ACCLAIMED musician, composer and academic Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin has been fondly remembered as a "distinctive and important voice in Irish music".
Professor Ó Súilleabháin died aged 67 at Milford Care Centre in Limerick following a prolonged illness.
He was Emeritus Professor of Music at the University of Limerick, as well as founder and director at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance.
Born in Clonmel in Co Tipperary in December 1950, Prof Ó Súilleabháin was renowned for his fusion of Irish traditional and classical music.
He was also a broadcaster and worked on programmes including A River of Sound, which examined changes in Irish traditional music.
The University of Limerick said he left a "rich legacy through his own music, as well as the academy he founded which attracted students from over 50 countries".
Sheila Pratschke, chair of the Republic's Arts Council, said he was a "distinctive and important voice in Irish music and music education".
Before taking up a PhD at Queen's University Belfast, Prof Ó Súilleabháin studied at University College Cork in the 1970s under some of Ireland's best-known composers, Seán Ó Riada and Aloys Fleischmann.
Seán Ó Riada's daughter, Sinn Féin MEP and presidential candidate Liadh Ní Riada, tweeted: "Ar dheis Dé le Michéal Ó Súilleabháin. Legendary pianist and composer.
"A student of my father's and always spoke highly of him. Michéal left a great legacy of wonderful compositions and arrangements. Suaimhneas sioraí."
Ar dheis Dé le Michéal Ó Súilleabháin. Legendary pianist & composer. A student of my father's and always spoke highly of him. Michéal left a great legacy of wonderful compositions & arrangements. Suaimhneas sioraí.
— Liadh Ní Riada MEP (@LiadhNiRiadaMEP) November 8, 2018
President Michael D Higgins paid tribute to his "fearless sense of exploration and his talent".
"His music and outstanding work will for ever be enjoyed by countless people, celebrating his humour, his fearless sense of exploration and his talent."
— President of Ireland (@PresidentIRL) November 8, 2018
Statement by President Higgins on the death of Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin: https://t.co/zPawhcGVoH
Prof Ó Súilleabháin is survived by his wife Prof Helen Phelan and their son Luke; sons Eoin and Mícheál (Moley), their mother Dr Nóirín Ní Rian, and his brother John.