Finbar Furey has paid tribute to his late friend Christy Dignam, telling the Ryan Tubridy Show on RTÉ Radio 1 that "the people loved him all over Ireland".
On RTÉ Radio 1 on Wednesday morning, Furey captured the country's love for the Aslan singer, who passed away on Tuesday afternoon after a long illness.
The Irish music legends memorably duetted on The Green Fields of France on the Late Late Show in January 2017 - a performance that people across Ireland and beyond have taken to their hearts.
"He loved this country so much," Furey told Tubridy on Wednesday morning. "Everybody's missing Christy this morning. Everybody loved him."
Furey described their Late Late performance as a "very special night".
"No rehearsal, no nothing and it's a big song," he reminisced. "His heart was totally in it and I just couldn't take my eyes off him... He just floored the place that night, he was brilliant."
Furey said Dignam was a performer who "always sang from his heart", a "very, very gorgeous man" who "did so much for music".
"I loved him very much," he continued. "He loved the music. I had great respect for what he did and always will. He'll be in my memory forever - and my family's memory too."
"Our hearts go out to Kathryn and the family," he concluded.
"His memory will live on forever, trust me. He was a good and beautiful man, a real character."
