After becoming uneasy about the commercialism of St Patrick's Day celebrations in Ireland, he retired to the Charante Maritime in France where he joined the church choir, became a hospital visitor and read Flaubert.
In the 70s he directed and narrated two documentary films about the
fight for survival in the Third World.
In later life, a frequent contributor to "The Tablet", the famous British Catholic newspaper.
Co-starred in both The Day of the Triffids and Crack in the World with Janette Scott. Both films center on a deadly threat to humanity.