Gabriel Byrne, the renowned Irish actor, has expressed his desire for a simple burial in Ireland, despite his plans to never reside there again. During a recent appearance at the Dingle Literary Festival, the 75-year-old actor shared his thoughts on the passing of his friend and fellow author, Edna O'Brien, who had chosen her final resting place years before her death. Byrne humorously contrasted the grandeur of Hollywood graves with his own preference for a modest graveyard.
'I want to be in a simple graveyard,' he said. 'If you saw some of the graves in Hollywood, my God, what monuments to vanity they are.'
Despite his current residence in Maine, USA, with his wife and daughter, Byrne's words evoke a deep connection to his Irish roots. He reminisced about the longing for home, a sentiment he believes many emigrants share.
'It wasn’t until I emigrated a long time ago that I understood that longing that people have to return home to wherever that is,' he said. 'Home... the eternal search for home. Belonging. I haven’t quite found that.'
Byrne's passion for literature and storytelling is evident. He believes that theatre and storytelling offer a sense of connection and community, especially in a technology-driven world.
'We are being isolated or being made more lonely by technology,' he said. 'I find when you go back to the theatre and you’re performing in front of an audience... audiences are desperate to connect. And one of the things that’s making a comeback is storytelling.'
As a lifelong book lover, Byrne continues to seek the perfect book, often browsing bookshops even when he already has multiple books on his reading list.
'I can’t pass a bookshop without going in, even if I have 10 books on the go... I have to go in because I’m always looking for that one book, the perfect book that I can take out and say: this book changed my life or changed the way I looked at the world.'
Byrne's love for literature and his search for the perfect book are a testament to his lifelong appreciation for the written word.
