Westlife star Shane Filan has described the "saddest day" of his life, following the death of his beloved mother.
In a heartbreaking post, Shane announced that his mother Mae died this weekend and thanked friends and fans for their supportive messages during the difficult time.
The 40-year-old star tweeted: "Yesterday, Sunday 15th December was the saddest day of my life... My Mother Mae who was an incredible beautiful women, wife, mother, grandmother & friend passed away peacefully surrounded by all her family."
He went on: "I'd like to say thank you to everyone for all your well wishes at this time."
"To all the fans for all your support & lovely messages, thank you. Her funeral is a very private time for me & my family to grieve & I know you all understand & will respect that."
The singer then said that he was askinf for donations to be made to Sligo North West Hospice as they "looked after his mum so beautifully and peacefully in her final days and will continue to do for so many more families.
"Thank you. Love always, Shane & Family," he finished.
Mae, who was a mother-of-seven, leaves behind husband Peter and children Finbarr, Peter, Yvonne, Liam, Denise, Mairéad as well as Shane.
Mae is noted for being one of the main forces in starting Shane's phenomenal career after she famously phoned Louis Walsh and convinced him to give Westlife a chance.
Speaking about Shane's mother, Louis told the Irish Independent: "She knew my mother. Mae was from Kiltimagh originally and was living in Sligo."
"Anyway, she rang me and said how good her son and the group were, and for some reason I believed her."
He added: "Every mother says their son is brilliant. I believed Mae Filan. I met them and there was something about them. They were rough around the edges."
Westlife began in 1998 after Shane, Kian Egan and Mark Feehily bonded as schoolmates in Co Sligo.
They released their eleventh studio album Spectrum in November and embarked on their thirteenth concert tour in May, selling every single show.
