A 62-year-old man who died in a house fire in Co Cork was master brewer at Franciscan Well Brewery in the city.
He has been named as Peter Lyall.
A woman was injured in the blaze at the Ardcullen estate in Hollyhill in the early hours of this morning.
Emergency services were alerted at around 12.45am.
Firefighters, using breathing aparatus, entered the two-storey semi-detached house and found Mr Lyall upstairs.
He was taken from the house but later pronounced dead at the scene.
The woman, who managed to get out of the house, was treated at the scene before being taken to Cork University Hospital (CUH) with non-life threatening injuries.
The house was destroyed in the fire. It was brought under control by crews from Cork City Fire Brigade.
The man's body was removed to CUH where a post-mortem examination will be carried out.
Gardaí said the cause of the blaze is being investigated and a technical examination was being carried out.
Mr Lyall was master brewer at Franciscan Well Brewery in Cork for over 20 years.
Founder of the Franciscan Well Brewery, Shane Long, said that Mr Lyall was an extremely kind man.
"If you had to have a photograph in the dictionary to define the word 'gentleman', it would be a photo of Peter.
"He was a quiet man, he kept his own counsel, but he helped so many people over the years, and the only person that ever heard about it was the person he helped. He was just that type of person."
Local Fianna Fáil Councillor Tony Fitzgerald said that he knew Mr Lyall and his partner.
He was "a lovely, quiet man" and everyone in the area was saddened by his death, Mr Fitzgerald said.
He added that the community would rally around to support Mr Lyall's partner.
The Chief Executive of the Sexual Violence Centre in Cork described Mr Lyall as the kindest of souls.
Mary Crilly, who lives near the brewery, said: "He was working there for a long time. Then he moved (job) to (a location) on the marina. He was a gorgeous person. I was mad about him."
"We moved in (by the well) around ten years ago and we were renovating a house there and I got to know him fairly early. Because if I needed someone to lift something Peter would be there. He was just lovely.
"He would be there in a blink (of an eye) to do something for you. The well would have done a bit of fundraising (for the Sexual Violence Centre) and anything we wanted Peter was behind us.
"He was very special. I am gutted about him because we were fond of him."
A neighbour in Hollyhill described Mr Lyall as "a lovely chap, a big friendly guy" who will be greatly missed.
