Christy Dignam is being remembered as a singer who turned 'turmoil and truth into beauty.'
The Aslan frontman died on Tuesday at the age of 63, following a long battle with cancer.
Hothouse Flowers musician Fiachna Ó Braonáin remembered his friend on Newstalk Breakfast.
"He started off as a rocker, but Christy will go down in memory as folk singer, he said.
"He crossed all sorts of musical genres, and he had this incredible voice.
"A singular, stand-out voice that was unlike anybody else's.
"You'd hear Christy singing any song and you'd know that was him.
"He was an extraordinary singer in terms of his technique as well".
'Freddie Mercury and Christy Dignam'
Ó Braonáin recalled one particular comparison.
"I remember going to singing lessons years ago with Frank Merriman of the Bel Canto School, where Christy also went," he said.
"I remember Frank telling me [that] there are two great singers in rock n’ roll: one of them is Freddie Mercury and the other is Christy Dignam.
"He wrote from the heart and sang from the heart.
"Then you hear him singing The Green Fields Of France with Finbar Furey on The Late Late Show a few years ago, and that held the country in rapture.
"It's a huge loss, huge loss".
'Honest and straightforward'
Ó Braonáin said he met Christy many times and they "shared many laughs."
"The one thing about Christy is he always had a glint in his eye and a smile on his face," he said.
"We came up at the same time... we were sort of running side by side for decades.
"So, we'd run into each other at music festivals or in The Columbia Hotel in London
"Lots of conversations into the night, and laughs".
Ó Braonáin described Christy as 'generous and honest.'
"He wouldn't hide the fact that he was struggling with something, as he was on a few occasions," he said.
"He'd be very honest and straightforward about that.
"He wasn't afraid of speaking his truth and telling his truth, and indeed singing his truths.
"I think [that] is a great strength, to be able to transform turmoil and truth into beauty is an amazing thing.
"I think that probably spurred him along his way throughout his life also," he added.
Listen back here:
In happier times, Dignam sat down for an in-depth interview on The Hard Shoulder’s Thursday Interview – You can listen back here:
