The leaders of Britain and Ireland have paid tribute to former Irish prime minister Dr Garret FitzGerald who has died after a short illness.
The politician, journalist and economist, who led two governments in the 1980s and fought tirelessly to cement close ties between the two states, died in a Dublin hospital.
Current Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny, who had an early-morning meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron in Dublin, said Dr FitzGerald's only concern was for the people and the country of Ireland.
"Garret FitzGerald was a remarkable man who made a remarkable contribution to Irish life," he said.
"His towering intellect, his enthusiasm for life, his optimism for politics was always balanced by his humility, his warmth, his bringing to public life of a real sense of dignity and integrity, and his interest being focused entirely on his people and on the country."
Mr Kenny also said his former Fine Gael party leader would have been happy to hear the Queen address Ireland on Wednesday night as part of her state visit.
"To see the work that he had done over very many years, and indeed his father (Desmond) before him, have played their part in putting the jigsaw of peace together."
Mr Cameron, who attended the Queen's speech at a state dinner in Dublin Castle, said he watched Dr FitzGerald when he was a student of politics, rather than someone involved in politics.
"He always struck me as someone who was a statesman, as well as a politician, someone who was in politics for all the right reasons and someone who made a huge contribution to the peace process and bringing reconciliation for all that had happened in the past," the Prime Minister said.
Referred to as "Garret the Good" by colleagues and opponents alike, his death was announced in a short family statement from his children John, Mark and Mary. He had been undergoing treatment in the Mater private hospital over the last few weeks.
