RTE star hopes to film new TV series before he dies after shock cancer diagnosis

Author and TV host Manchán Magan has opened up about his cancer diagnosis and his hope to complete another series of his popular RTE show before his death.

The Irish language enthusiast joined Brendan O'Connor on his RTE Radio 1 show at the weekend to discuss his Irish language book called Ninety-Nine Words for Rain (and One for Sun) but spoke openly about his ongoing health battle.

Manchán made the journey to the RTE studios from his hospital bed in St James's Hospital where he said he has been for the last three weeks.

"This cancer I've been playing with for the last year and a half suddenly took a bout, a turn."

He went on to say the cancer has spread to numerous parts of his body: "It's in part of lungs, my brain, my liver, and yet it's only prostate cancer; it's like the easiest cancer but there is just this rare form of prostate cancer that will just devour you."

He is undergoing chemotherapy but revealed it is a matter of when and not if he will succumb to the disease. "We might get a year or two, and definitely get another few months."

READ NEXT: ‘National Day of Mourning’: Traitors fans devastated as Paudie is banished from the castle

He says he focused on living out his time to the full, adding, "there's books, there's films, there's things I want to do.

"For some reason, there's hasn't been much despair or why me, why me, but there is an awful lot of pain. It's a lovely thing to know that I can plan my last few months or years. There's a creativity to think, 27 years ago I bought this land in Westmeath and planted an oak forest and thinking I can give this native woodland to a charity I'm involved with."

Manchán also said he hopes to complete a new series for RTE before his death. The first series of Manchán's Europe By Train hit our screens last year and RTE has commissioned a second iteration of the popular travel show which is due to be filmed next year. 

Manchán said: "It's possible I could do it. That would be the peak if we got that done, maybe in May to July next year. I'd had to have had a big improvement but I'm not ruling that one out. It's probably a bit too much, but who knows? We'll see."

You can listen to Manchán's full chat with Brendan O'Connor on the RTE radio player website.