Dubliners are in mourning after the great Christy Dignam - the "common man" who was "born to sing" - passed away yesterday.
Dublin Live chatted to the people of the city about how they felt after the passing of the 63-year-old. And several told us of his impact on the community and on the Irish music scene, with some sharing their personal stories of the singer.
Rory Costello, a busker from Balbriggan, said the musicians in Dublin are all thinking about him today - and paid his own tribute to the singer with a stirring rendition of the song Hallelujah.
Rory said: “We’ll be thinking about him, all of the musicians in Dublin. He was definitely a big musician. In our family, we used to love listening to all of his music, like ‘This Time’, and of course ‘Crazy World’. He’ll be awfully missed.
Read more: Christy Dignam's heartbreaking last words as he pleaded for more time with family
“I’ve never been to any of his concerts but I did see him one time when I used to work in a hotel up near home and he was playing at one of his daughter’s friend’s weddings and he got up and sang a few songs. So, I got to see him only but not Aslan.”
Alan, from central Dublin, saw Christy at a hospital when he was first diagnosed. He recalled: “I remember him being in hospital with my father when he first got diagnosed with cancer. He was a nice man, a lovely lad. I was in the same ward with him, he used to go to people’s beds and sing for them in the hospital.”
Johnny Tash, from Finglas, was a fan from before Christy became famous - and remembered seeing him at a free gig before Christy struck it big. Johnny said: “He was a common man, he came from Finglas, from humble beginnings. He was born to sing.
“After he passed on yesterday at 4pm, it flatlined - Aslan are no more because with no Christy, there’s no Aslan.
“His most famous song, Crazy World, was his swansong. He had other hits as well, I can’t remember them all but that was his most famous, it resonated with the common man.”
Colin McGettrick, from Raheny, was one of Christy’s fans. He said: “Christy Dignam was a legend, an iconic singer for Aslan, we used to follow for years, we used to go to a lot of nightclubs years ago where he used to gig. He will be sadly missed."
And Jenny Kelly, from Finglas, was one of Christy’s younger fans. She said: “I think everybody from Finglas is a big fan and was always a big supporter of him just because you don’t [usually] get a star like that from your own area. “
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