Patrick Stewart's Tipperary connection recalled as actor's death announced in Los Angeles

Patrick Stewart’s connection to Tipperary was recalled earlier this week as the death of the highly-regarded actor on Wednesday, October 28th was announced in Los Angeles.

The Star Trek and X-Men actor, with an illustrious career in theatre under his belt too, passed away at the age of 86 following a "brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer's disease and Lewy Body Dementia".

Stewart played the role of King Leodegrance in the 1981 film Excalibur, which was partly filmed at Cahir Castle. The role was one of his first major roles on the big screen, and the movie is credited with launching his career alongside those of Liam Neeson, Ciarán Hinds, and Helen Mirren, all of whom also starred in the film.

Cahir Castle was the scene of a seminal battle in the film, where King Leodogrance defends his castle alongside his daughter Guinevere (played by Cherie Mary Lunghi). The battle scenes make excellent use of the Norman-built fortress, which welcomes thousands of visitors each year.

Cahir Castle marked a milestone just this October as 100,000 visitors came to the castle since the start of the year for the first time since the OPW opened its doors to the public in 1971.

Patrick Stewart was best-known onscreen for playing Captain Jean-Luc Picard on Star Trek, and Professor X in the X-Men movies. He was also a respected theatre actor; he was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company from 1966 to 1982, and among his many accolades were two Laurence Olivier Awards.

As well as playing opposite his lifelong friend and Royal Shakespeare compatriot Ian McKellan in X-Men (where McKellan played the complicated villain Magneto), the duo played opposite one another in Waiting for Godot, and Harold Pinter’s No Man’s Land.

Stewart was an ambassador for the domestic abuse charity Refuge, which he became involved with in 2007. He had witnessed his father physically abuse his mother as a child. Writing in The Guardian, Stewart told how he, as a child, navigated the moods of his father and tried to protect, where he could, his mother.

“I heard police or ambulancemen, standing in our house, say, ‘She must have provoked him,’ or, ‘Mrs Stewart, it takes two to make a fight.’”

“The truth is my mother did nothing to deserve the violence she endured. She did not provoke my father, and even if she had, violence is an unacceptable way of dealing with conflict. Violence is a choice a man makes and he alone is responsible for it.”

Mr Stewart is survived by his wife Sunny, and his two children Daniel and Sophie, from his first marriage.

If you are affected by any of the items mentioned in this article, Women’s Aid can be contacted 24/7, 7 days a week, on 1800 341 900.