Father Ted star Brendan Grace has died following a short battle with lung cancer. He was 68.
The comic, who played the intimidating Father Fintan Stack in the Channel 4 sitcom, was only diagnosed with the illness last month, while being treated for pneumonia.
And tributes have already started to flood in for the Irish legend.
Brendan O’Carroll, who plays the lead role in hit BBC sitcom Mrs Brown’s Boys, was one of the first to pay his respects to Grace.
He tweeted: “So sad at the passing of a great comedy legend, husband and father Brendan Grace.
“He opened doors for so many of us and leaves a legacy of love and laughter that will echo through this land, and we will all mourn his passing.”
O’Carroll then referred to the schoolboy character that Grace sometimes played on stage, saying: “Rest peacefully Bottler, you’ve earned it.”
Read more: Father Ted’s Brendan Grace given lung cancer diagnosis
Des Cahill, a councillor in Cork, added: “Sad to hear of the passing of Brendan Grace. A larger than life character who brought smiles to many faces as an outstanding entertainer.”
And a friend of Grace’s family, Ciaran O’Raghallaigh, said of the comic: “He fought with all his might and had family close by all the way to the end, laughing and reminiscing, but Brendan Grace finally succumbed this morning.
“Rest in Peace Bottler.”
While Grace’s stint in Father Ted was brief, he enjoyed a highly successful career as a comic and singer, gracing the stage for more than four decades.
He even once shared a stage with Frank Sinatra.
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Towards the end of his life, he divided his time between Ireland, where he ran a pub, and Florida.
Grace leaves behind a wife and four grown-up children.
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