Covid-19 survivor Barra Fitzgibbon: ‘They called me ‘soldier’ – the only one to wake up among the 60 ICU patients they had treated over the previous 12 days’In 2020, the Irishman became the UK’s first Covid ICU survivor after he was put into a medically induced coma. During his long recovery, he documented his battle to survive in a raw, unfiltered blog that has been adapted for the stageBarra Fitzgibbon in hospitalBarra Fitzgibbon Today at 06:30I never imagined that my name would ever be attached to phrases like ‘first survivor’ or ‘poster boy for survival’, or indeed ‘playwright’! I’m just Barra Fitzgibbon, a Dubliner who moved to London 20 odd years ago to make a life, and raise a family. But in March 2020, at the very start of the UK’s Covid-19 crisis, I found myself thrust into the middle of a battle for my life, one I came terrifyingly close to losing.

Source: Irish Independent January 17, 2026 07:01 UTC