Christy Dignam Speaks About His Illness In Emotional Interview

In a deeply emotional interview, Christy Dignam has spoken about his illness which has seen him placed in palliative care.

The Aslan lead singer has a rare blood condition called Amyloidosis, and has spent the last few months in the care of his family at their home in Finglas. 

Dignam spoke from his living room, where a medical bed is set up for him. Something that he has called a "conveyor belt up to Heaven”, adding that  “I’ll come in here and that’ll be the end of it”. 

The singer revealed that these past few months have given him time to reflect on things that he will miss out on. 

“I was sitting here one day a few weeks ago and I was looking out the window and this fella walked by, and I thought to myself, ‘I’ll never do that again”, Dignam said. “I’ll never just go for a walk…’ and that sent me into a spiral and I thought about all the things I won’t do again”, the singer reflected. “It’s like you’re heading into an abyss. I wouldn’t be hugely religious. Logic gets in the way. But I believe we’re all spiritual beings in one sense or other”. 

 “I remember there used to be an old saying – that ‘religion is for people who want to go to Heaven, spirituality is for people who have been to Hell’. And I really identified with that”, he continued.  

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Christy Dignam was diagnosed with a blood condition back in 2013. He revealed that he prayed that he allowed to stay on this planet for another 10 years following his diagnosis. 

“Just fear, nobody wants to die. When I first got diagnosed, I remember praying I was like, ‘Please, just give me 10 more years”, Dignam said. “And that 10 years are up now and you’re kind of saying, ‘I know I only asked for 10 but you couldn’t throw another 10 in there could you, yeah?'”. 

Elsewhere, Christy Dignam added that he hopes his daughter Keira might carry on his singing legacy after he passes on, stating that she is "the only person on Earth who has the right" to sing his songs. 

"In some ways, she has been unlucky being my daughter, because people think [her success] is just because she is Christy Dignam's daughter. But she has a real talent. I wouldn't say that and have her going out making a show of herself. She has a real talent and a lot of the stuff has been written around when she was growing up...", he added. "She is the only person on Earth who has the right to do it in that way".