Michael Patrick, an Irish actor and writer known for his role in Game of Thrones, has died at age 35.
Patrick passed away peacefully while in hospice care in Northern Ireland, his wife, Naomi Sheehan, announced Wednesday on Instagram.
“Last night, Mick sadly passed away in the Northern Ireland Hospice,” Sheehan wrote.
“He was diagnosed with Motor Neuron Disease on 1st February 2023. He was admitted 10 days ago and was cared for by the incredible team there. He passed peacefully, surrounded by family and friends. Words can’t describe how broken-hearted we are.”
Motor Neuron Disease (MND) is an incurable condition that “attacks the nerves that control movement so muscles no longer work,” according to the MND Association.
ALS is the most common form, though Patrick’s family did not specify his exact diagnosis. The disease can progressively weaken muscles, impacting walking, talking, eating, and breathing.
Patrick appeared in a Season 6 episode of HBO’s Game of Thrones. His other television credits included Blue Lights, This Town, and the BBC series My Left Nut, which he co-wrote based on his own teenage years.
He also had roles in Blasts from the Past, The Spectacular, and the 2025 German TV movie Mordlichtern – Tod auf den Färöer Inseln.
A graduate of the University of Cambridge, Patrick performed with the famed Cambridge Footlights comedy troupe before training at the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in London.
In his final social media post, dated Feb. 6, Patrick revealed that his neurologist had given him an estimate of one year left to live. “Still lots to live for and lots planned,” he wrote.
Sheehan remembered her husband as “a titan of a ginger-haired man,” whose “joy, abundance of spirit, and infectious laughter” touched everyone who knew him. She closed with a quote from Irish playwright Brendan Behan that Patrick loved: “The most important things to do in the world are to get something to eat, something to drink and somebody to love you. So, don’t overthink it. Eat. Drink. Love.”
Patrick is survived by his wife, Naomi.