Father Ted star Brendan Grace has died at the age of 68 after a short period of illness.
The veteran entertainer, who was also a stand-up comedian, played Father Fintan Stack in the popular comedy series about three priests.
He died at 12.26am on Thursday, surrounded by his family, after being diagnosed with lung cancer 10 days ago, his manager confirmed.
The actor, who also starred in 2013 TV film Brendan Grace’s Bottler, had lived in the US for many years, but returned to his native Dublin in early June, where he was first diagnosed with pneumonia, before his terminal cancer diagnosis.
Brendan’s longterm booking agent, Tom Kelly, paid tribute to the star on RTÉ Radio One’s Morning Ireland on Thursday.
Declaring him “one of the greatest entertainers of this era”, Tom said: “He gave a performance every night that merited the applause he received.”
“We can look back with pride on Brendan’s lifetime. He was a great family man, very close with them and he was adored by his fans all over the world.”
Brendan is survived by his wife, Eileen, and their four children.