Patrick Bergin grew up with a working class upbringing in the Drimnagh district of Dublin, Ireland. Bergin learned social responsibility from his father Paddy Bergin, a Labour Party Politician who had once studied to be a priest with the Holy Ghost Fathers in Blackrock, Ireland. He is one of four sons and one daughter (Pearse, Emmet, Patrick, Alan and Siobhan Bergin). Bergin left Dublin for London in 1973; and by the time he was 17 he was in London running a theatre group. Bergin worked on building sites and at a library. He studied at night and completed a degree in education from North London Polytechnic. Bergin worked as an English Teacher for several years before forming his own theatrical company because no one else would have him.
He may be best-known internationally for playing the menacing husband of Julia Roberts' character in the thriller Sleeping with the Enemy and is also known for his role as Irish terrorist Kevin O'Donnell in the film adaption of Patriot Games. Bergin also appeared as Robin Hood in a 1991 TV film. In 2013 he played notorious Glasgow gangster Arthur 'The Godfather' Thompson in The Wee Man. Bergin joined the BBC soap EastEnders towards the end of 2017, departing in March 2018.
In 1993, Bergin bought an old church in Tipperary and converted it into a poetry centre. Bergin explained, "I've recently come to feel I can encourage children and teenagers with their writing. I'm continually giving groups money to make videos, but I insist that they have a good script. I do it because it makes the difference between them doing a video or not. It doesn't cost a lot, and it gives kids an incredible boost of confidence." In 1998, in response to the murder of a 14-year-old Tallaght boy, Ben Smyth, Bergin participated in setting up a special fund to sponsor young children from Tallaght.
