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13th June 2023
05:49pm BST
"On behalf of my family, it is with a broken heart that we convey the news of my father’s passing, Christy Dignam. "Dad peacefully left us where he wanted to, at home today at 4pm Tuesday, June 13th 2023, after a courageously long-fought battle, surrounded by his family. "We ask that you honour our family's need for privacy during this immensely painful period. "Let us all hold him in our hearts and cherish the remarkable life of a talented singer, great story teller and amazing person. "We thank you so much for your love and support shown to us. "Kathryn, Kiera, Darren, Cian, Ava, Jake and our extended family x."Born in 1960, Dignam grew up in the north Dublin suburb of Finglas before becoming the lead singer of Aslan, who released six studio albums between 1988 and 2012. Some of their most popular songs include 'Crazy World', 'This Is' and 'Where's the Sun'. Dignam entered palliative care in December 2022 after being diagnosed with both amyloidosis and myeloma in 2013. In April, the singer described an interview he did with RTÉ Radio 1's The Ryan Tubridy Show as "possibly his last". He said at the time that his cancer diagnosis had helped him see what is important in life and that spending time with his family was now his main priority. He told Tubridy:
“I’m happy and I get very sad and I get very scared. You know the thing about this diagnosis, anybody with cancer actually - that’s why I used to love listening to Vicki Phelan - because when you do get into a particular emotion, you get into it. You know what I mean? You don’t do it by halves, do you know what I mean? Because everything is so serious. Do you know what I mean? There’s no, there’s no time for bullshit.”He also described palliative care as feeling like "a conveyor belt to heaven” but that he was grateful to be able to spend the time at home.
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