BRESSIE TELLS
In 2013, he found the strength to open up about his chronic anxiety and has dedicated the past six years understanding the human condition.
In his Spotify podcast Where Is My Mind, he delves into various topics close to his heart with Late Late Toy Show inspiration from Ryan Tubridy on the power of innocence, while author Marian Keyes talks all things love.
The first series has been nominated for a British creativity award.
Bressie wanted to lift people’s spirits with the second season, to support people coming out of the pandemic.
He has been at back at the family home in Mullingar, Co Westmeath, since March with his mum Mandy and former army officer dad Enda.
The 39-year-old told the Irish Sunday Mirror: “I decided 14 weeks ago to come home, they’re over 70 so they needed someone to do the running around for them.
“I’ve been cocooning with them, it’s just been the three of us in the house, so it’s been pretty amazing.
“I’ve turned into a teenager, it’s like, ‘Hi mum’, they’re slightly sick of me. But who in their late 30s gets a chance to reconnect with your parents?
“They love me until they see their food bill. My mum calls me ‘a twice-week trip to Lidl’.”
Bressie, who was in a long-term relationship with model turned foodie Roz Purcell, believes he does not believe we need to conform to the love stereotype.
He said: “There’s a conforming element, that you get to this age and you’re going to have your three kids and your suburban American life but the reality is there’s so much more to love than romantic love, there’s companionship, your pet.
“We need to stop thinking of it as just wife, husband and 2.4 kids, there’s more to love than that.”
Bressie also saw his lockdown ukulele rockdown take off after he sent the instrument to cocooners across Ireland.
He added: “I bought my mam a ukulele at the start of all this, she’s a music teacher but she has arthritis in her hand
With parents
Ryan Tubridy
Marian Keyes
The only way I could change that was to call it BRESSIE ON STRUGGLES WITH MENTAL HEALTH
and can’t play her violin anymore, it’s hard to watch, so I bought her a ukulele and said they’re easier on the hands.
“She was delighted with it, playing every day, so I sent 40 to people cocooning, that grew to 400 and we got Music Maker on board and An Post. “These people were so lonely, I got Justin from The Blizzards to teach them online how to play.
“We started to hear real stories about people cocooning, the icy hand of loneliness is a very upsetting thing for any individual.”
Bressie is one of five siblings but he felt he could easily move home for the pandemic and turn his childhood