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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Susan Knox

Aslan singer Christy Dignam's final words as he begged for more time with family

Aslan frontman Christy Dignam heartbreakingly begged for more time with his family after his rare blood disorder diagnosis.

The Crazy World hit-maker, 63, died on Tuesday following the lengthy illness which saw him hospitalised earlier this year.

Christy hailed from Dublin and was the lead singer of the chart-topping band until being put under palliative care last January, before spending the last few months at home under the care of his family.

He had been diagnosed with amyloidosis, a rare blood disorder since 2013, but last July, the star was admitted to hospital under the care of the Haematology and Cardiac Care team and since then, he had been fighting hard to stay with his beloved family for longer.

His daughter, Kiera confirmed the singer's passing in a heartbreaking social media post which read: "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 4pm Tuesday, June 13th 2023, after a courageously long-fought battle, surrounded by his family.

Christy begged for more time with his family (REX/Shutterstock)

"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."

Back in April, Christy had openly begged for more time with his family.

In a lengthy interview with former Late Late Show host Ryan Tubridy, Christy shared how he wished that he had more time.

In what would be his final interview, the singer said: “Just fear, nobody wants to die. When I first got diagnosed, I remember praying I was like, 'Please, just give me 10 more years'.

"And that 10 years are up now and you're kind of saying, 'I know I only asked for 10 but you couldn't throw another 10 in there could you, yeah?'"

Following his sad passing, Christy's Aslan bandmates released a heartbreaking statement.

Dignam's band's biggest hit was the 1993 single Crazy World, although they topped the charts multiple more times in Ireland (Artur Widak/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock)

"We are beyond devastated to have lost not just our band member, but our friend, Christy, that we have had so many many years of sharing our lives with. The band and Christy's family, ask for you to respect their privacy at this time."

Tributes have flooded in for the much-loved singer from huge stars including The Script and Conor McGregor.

Danny O'Donoghue and Glen Power The Script - who recently lost their bandmate and friend Mark Sheehan to a brief illness said: "We’re devastated to hear the news about our friend and hero, Christy Dignam. We were blessed to share the stage with @OfficialAslan Christy in Dublin. We’ve lost a Legend, one of a kind, our thoughts and prayers are with his family RIP Christy. Danny and Glen."

"RIP Christy Dignam," McGregor wrote in a Twitter post to his millions of followers.

Dignam's band's biggest hit was the 1993 single Crazy World, although they topped the charts multiple more times in Ireland.

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