President Michael D Higgins has paid tribute to award-winning Irish novelist Jennifer Johnston who has died at the age of 95.
President Higgins said that Ms Johnston had "throughout her many novels and plays, provided a deep and meaningful examination of the nature and limitations of identity, family and personal connections throughout the tumultuous events of 20th century Irish life".
Ms Johnston was a member of Aosdána, the affiliation of creative artists in Ireland, and known for novels and plays including 'How Many Miles to Babylon?'.
She was a beloved and celebrated figure in Irish literature, known for her exploration of Anglo-Irish identity, political tensions, and the complexities of personal relationships.
Her novel 'Shadows on Our Skin' was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1977, while 'The Old Jest' won the Whitbread Award for Fiction in 1979. Other significant works include 'The Railway Station Man', and 'The Christmas Tree'.
Ms Johnston received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Irish Book Awards in 2012.
She also wrote plays, including 'O Ananias, Azarias and Misael', which won the Giles Cooper Award for Best Radio Play.
She published her first novel aged 42 and was prolific during her career, continuing to write well into her later life.
Her work remains a vital part of Ireland's literary legacy and today her son Patrick said "she is leaving a big void and passed on to her children a love of life, of fun and strong values".
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Born on 12 January 1930 in Dublin, she grew up in the theatrical Johnston family. Her father was playwright and academic Denis Johnston and her mother was acclaimed actress Shelah Richards.
Ms Johnston met her husband Ian Smyth in Trinity College Dublin, and they lived in London for many years where they had four children, Patrick, Sarah, Lucy and Malachi.
They later divorced and afterwards she married solicitor David Gilliland and they lived in Derry.
In later years she moved back to Dublin.
In more recent times, Ms Johnston was diagnosed with dementia and died last night at a nursing in Dún Laoghaire.
Her brother Micheal Johnston is a retired RTÉ television and radio producer. She is also survived by her half-brother Rory.
Director of the Arts Council Maureen Kennelly said in a statement: "Jennifer Johnston's passing is a great loss to the literary world. A gifted storyteller, she brought nuance, compassion, and truth to every page she wrote. Her influence on Irish writing is immeasurable, and her legacy will continue to inspire. Our thoughts are with her family at this time."
Author Dermot Bolger paid tribute to Ms Johnston and her work.
"We have lost one of the great modern writers of our times. I also will incredibly miss her wonderful personality, her generous laugh. I’d like to send my condolences to her children and her grandchildren, because Jennifer was a unique writer and a unique person as well," he said.
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Speaking on RTÉ's News at One, Mr Bolger said that Ms Johnston was late starting her writing career.
"In more recent years, her books explored the hidden civil war within family relationships and the difficult transition of a girl going from childhood to adulthood. In the very sparse sentences, she would give us unforgettable characters, those strings that hold a family together and the contradictions that are at the heart of a human being.
"I think she was quite late publishing her first novel, she was 42 ... With Jennifer, she had to have her children raised first and then break out of it.
"I think she was quite depressed about not being able to write and then in her late 30s and 40s she began to write. She made up for it then with almost 20 novels.
"There was a desperation within her to write," Mr Bolger added.
