Francis Brennan (right) and his brother John are pictured with two South American friends. Age is Just a Number: Make the Best of Every Decade, by Francis Brennan (Gill Books, €19.99 / £17.99)
Francis Brennan is not a young man, and yet he has conquered our attention on television and become a bestselling author. One can’t help wondering if he has some secret which might be of interest and perhaps use to those of us who are not as young as we once were. In this respect this latest book of his is illuminating.
Francis Brennan was born in Sandyford, Co. Dublin, on September 24, 1953. He attended the local national school and CUS, the Marist College, on Leeson Street in central Dublin.
Following his secondary education he set out to be an hotelier. He served his apprenticeship in some of the best-known hotels in the country, including the Parknasilla Resort and Spa in Co. Kerry and Jury’s Hotel in Dublin.
Eventually he acquired the Park Hotel in Kenmare, Co. Kerry. With his brother John he developed it into a five-star hotel. He also became an influential figure in the Irish Hotel Business and the Irish Tourist Industry.
Apart from excelling as hoteliers, Francis and John excelled as the producers of immensely popular TV programmes. In concert with RTÉ they offered to modernise and update premises which were in the hospitality business, provided their efforts to this end could be presented as a TV programme.
Between 2008 and 2017 RTÉ presented 55 programmes showing the brothers doing makeovers on B&B’s, guest-houses, hotels, hostels, restaurants and other places of business from the length and breadth of Ireland. As a result the brothers became television personalities.
Appearances
Subsequently Francis also made other television appearances, notably in a series, entitled Francis Brennan’s Grand Tour, in which he leads holiday-makers on a tour of Europe, next on a tour of India’s Golden Triangle and finally on a trip to Vietnam.
Following his popular TV programmes Francis continued to share his widespread experience and practical wisdom. He published The Homekeeper’s Diary in 2023 in which he suggested how householders could re-model their homes and he also provided advice on cleaning, gardening, cooking and other aspects of household living.
It was inevitable that when he reached his 70th year that he would be prompted to direct his optimistic and positive attitude to life in the direction of his fellow-septuagenarians.
Age is Just a Number: Make the Best of Every Decade is beautifully shaped. At the outset Francis warns that it is crucial to be prepared for the period when one no longer has the duty nor the right to show up for work and he indicates how one could and should prepare for this eventuality.
Importance
He emphasises the importance of caring for one’s mental and physical health and proffers the advice of experts on how to ensure one’s general well-being in that area.
He illustrates how counting one’s blessings can be a wonderful antidote to stress. And he points out that the reasons all scientific studies give for a long life highlight regular exercise, connection with family, eating lots of fresh fruit and vegetables and no smoking.
For Francis friends are ever important in every stage of one’s existence and especially for the elderly. He advocates that they retain a close relationship with their extended family, friends and neighbours.
He offers numerous practical tips with regard to dealing with financial matters. Nor does he omit to make useful suggestions on the need to dress so that one can be “looking good and feeling great”.
He quotes Benjamin Franklin: “In this world nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes”: and counsels that the drafting of a will and overseeing funeral arrangements should not be delayed.
Francis Brennan’s book is a treasure trove of enlightened commonsense and is a vade mecum which could greatly enhance the lives of elderly persons.