Me & My Health: Brendan Quinn
Age is just a number. I’m as active as I was 20 years ago, insists country singer
The 73-year-old country singer, originally from Magherafelt, kept active over lockdown by performing 100 online gigs in 100 days on his Facebook page. He is married to Bernie (72) and has four children Julie, Stephen, Emma and James and six grandchildren.
Do you take regular exercise and if so, what?
I do take exercise — I walk around 25 miles per week. I’m blessed to live in a beautiful part of the world, on the Fanad peninsula in north Donegal. There are several great walks with fantastic views of the mountains and the Atlantic Ocean. I mainly walk Ballyhiernan Bay — I just love the sound of the sea and the sea air. It’s a bit like a drug — you return home on a high. I also do neck exercises which involves turning my head left to right as far as I can, also forward and backward — I do each exercise 12 times daily to train my vocal chords.
What is the worst illness you’ve had?
Thankfully I have never had a major illness in my life. I had my tonsils removed as a young man and the reason I remember it so well was the pain. It lasted for almost a week. I’ve also had three different operations over the years to repair a collapsed eardrum. Sadly they all failed and I now have very poor hearing in my right ear.
How healthy is your diet?
My diet is very basic — Bernie and I both have the same tastes, so we eat lot of fruit and abovethe-ground vegetables like scallions, lettuce and cabbage, and we like our carrots and potatoes too. I eat porridge and honey for breakfast and maybe a boiled egg or a banana and wheaten bread for lunch. For dinner we would have stews or a chicken dish of chicken fillets with a pineapple ring and grated cheese on top, all wrapped in streaky bacon and baked in the oven. We do pasta dishes, chilli con carne and bowls of homemade chicken soup and nice floury spuds. I actually do quite a bit of the cooking in our house — I can bake wheaten and soda bread and I can do a decent apple crumble.
Any bad habits?
I have to say that I have a sweet tooth. In fact all my musician friends call me ‘The Bun’. I got that nickname many years ago when I was quite chubby and had a habit of heading straight for the cream buns at some reception or other. I still love chocolate.
Do you drink and smoke and if so, how much?
I have been teetotal all my life — I took my mother’s advice and never touched a drop. What you never had, you never missed. I am, however, a lifelong smoker — I’ve been smoking since I was about 11 or 12 years old. After reading a little green book about stopping smoking, I quit for 13 weeks in 1987, but sadly I didn’t persist. A very close musician friend who had used LSD, heroin, cannabis and cocaine told me he was able to beat them all except nicotine. He said he just could not beat it. I have tried over the years to cut down on my smoking and I now smoke around 10 per day.
Do you take any supplements?
I used to take a lot of supplements. I had a consultation about a year ago with a holistic doctor with regard to my restless legs. He put me on this regime of supplements which included wheatgrass, liquid selenium, nascent iodine, borax and other tablets. I followed this regime for about two weeks and began to get very nauseous, like really sick. I eventually dropped the whole idea.
How do you take time out?
I take time out mainly by walking. I walk Ballyhiernan Bay almost every day unless it’s raining, in which case I might bake some homemade bread or do a chilli con carne and freeze it for later. I find that food frozen for a time tastes a lot better. I also enjoy reading — history and thrillers. I enjoy watching sports and current affairs on TV. A large part of my day involves my music — I would spend a few hours every day practicing my guitar playing and attempting to put some lyrics together that might turn out to be a half decent song.
How well do you sleep?
I am not a good sleeper — I get about five to six hours each night. I suffer from restless legs and some nights they wake me up. I find it difficult to get back to sleep. It’s all rather debilitating but it’s something I just have to live with. I take medication for the condition, but I don’t think it helps very much.
Do you worry about getting old?
I have no worries about getting old. I embrace it. Age is just a number, I am as active today as I was 20 years ago. I think that’s the secret — stay positive and keep active.
What is your go-to product that keeps you feeling healthy?
The only supplement that I take now is a flavoured aloe vera drink — two tablespoons every day. It’s good for all your joints and keeps them from freezing up.
‘ I was quite chubby and had a habit of heading straight for the cream buns at some reception or other. I love chocolate’
Brendan Quinn’s song Will We Ever Be Free is about lockdown from the perspective of older people missing grandchildren, isolating and trying to stay active, and he has just released a new album, Lockdown. To find out more, visit www.brendanquinnmusic.co.uk