Singer/songwriter Christie Hennessy has died at the age of 62.
Born in Tralee, Co Kerry, Hennessy wrote such songs as Don't Forget Your Shovel, which was made famous by Christy Moore, and All the Lies That You Told Me, which was recorded by Frances Black.
His song Oh Jealous Heart was recorded by Máire Brennan from Clannad.
Hennessy's manager, Fran Cotton, said: "He was a shy, unassuming, kind, gentle, non-egotistical person, that's the sort of person he was off-stage.
"On-stage he had the biggest personality, he would literally come out on stage and sit down and the audience would erupt and clap and laugh. He could take them to the highs and the lows on stage with his songs."
Ms Cotton confirmed that Hennessy died from asbestosis yesterday morning in a London hospice. The illness is believed to be linked to the years he spent working on Britain's building sites.
"Most beautiful of men, family man, wonderful friend, writer and singer of magical songs. May he rest in peace," wrote singer Christy Moore on his website yesterday evening on hearing about the death of his friend.
Hennessy left school at the age of 11. In later years, he spoke publicly about the difficulties he had with reading and writing and his severe dyslexia, which was never dealt with at school.
As a result he supported many educational literacy programmes and he was patron of the Irish charity, Children in Crossfire.
He was the youngest of nine children and emigrated to London in his teens. By the age of 23 he had written his first song. He released his first album, The Green Album, in 1972.
Others followed including The Rehearsal, which was a triple platinum-selling release in 1992, and the 1999 double platinum This is As Far As I Go.
In recent months, artists including Mary Black, Christy Moore and Luka Bloom had gathered in London to record a series of duets with him. This compilation album will be released next year.
"He was a naturally gifted writer and a lovely, gentle man," said Mary Black, who recorded If You Were to Fall for the upcoming album.
She recalled Hennessy's great sense of humour when she got to know him first in 1990 when he toured with her.
"He had everyone rolling around the aisles laughing, just by being very much himself, they loved him," she said.
Christie Hennessy is survived by his wife Gill, his daughters Hermione and Amber and his son Tim.