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No one can tell you when you are going to die |
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Sunday, March 16, 2008 |
| Irish Mail on Sunday - Nicola Tallant |
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From beyond the grave, Christie Hennessy tells why he fought to the last.
When doctors told Christie Hennessy he was going to die his immediate reaction was anger. But he soon decided it was up to him to hold on for as long as he could. The legendary singer-songwriter worked until his last breath, writing and recording with some of Ireland’s leading artists, including Luka Bloom and Christy Moore. In December 2007 Christie lost his battle with the disease asbestosis, having only been diagnosed the previous May. He talks about his illness in his final interview, due to be broadcast tonight. In a documentary, which began filming in October, he reveals how he felt when he was diagnosed: ‘Five months ago, they told me I had three months to live. The first few weeks were hard because I thought, “Well, that is the end”. But it is only the end if I let it be the end. ‘Every day that I am here, I intend to make the best of it. It is OK to feel angry for a while, but even anger can turn on you. I got angry for a little time and then let go of that because it doesn’t serve much purpose. ‘I also pray a lot to whoever or whatever. I send up prayers and I try to think positive’, he says. He reveals how his late mother was an inspiration to him when he first learnt of his illness. ‘They told my mum she had six months to live and that they were very sorry about it. I remember her telling me about it five years later. She said when she left the surgery she was really glad to see the word “doctor” on the door and not “God”. She felt a doctor couldn’t tell her she was going to die. She lived for 12 years after that. ‘So I’m kind of not bothered. Nobody can tell you that you are going to die. Nobody knows.’ In the documentary, Christie recalls how he knew instantly that his wife Gill was the woman for him when he first met her. The couple went on to have three children, daughters Hermione and Amber, who sang and played fiddle in his band, and a son, Tim. ‘I met my wife at a disco. I saw this girl with three or four others and thought she was lovely. I asked her to dance and she looked at me like I had two heads. One of the other girls pushed her forward into my arms. About four in the morning, she went off home and gave me her number. ‘A few days later, we were looking at a sign and I told her that I couldn’t read, and she said it didn’t matter. I knew then she was the right one. It is a hard call to go with someone who can’t ready or write.’ In the documentary, his children describe a wonderful father who instilled in them a deep love of music. Christie also says his amazing musical talent was a gift and describes how he considered himself blessed: ‘It is a gift and I thank God for that – being allowed to sing.’ Musicians Finbar Furey, Christy Moore, Luka Bloom, Frances Black and Paul Brady who pay tribute to the ‘gentle’ songwriter who touched their hearts. ‘I consider it a great privilege to have met him and played with him,’ says Bloom. |
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