Irish author Maeve Binchy dies at 72 following short illness

Fellow Novelists Lead Maeve Binchy Tributes

Tributes are being paid to popular Irish writer Maeve Binchy, who has died aged 72. She was best known for writing novels such as Circle of Friends.

Maeve Binchy

Irish writers, book-lovers and politicians alike have been paying tribute today to Maeve Binchy, after it was announced that the Dublin-based novelist had died at the age of 72. Binchy passed away in hospital yesterday, following a short illness, with husband Gordon Snell by her side.

The Irish President Michael D. Higgins was among those to pay tribute to Maeve, complimenting her "self-deprecating humour, honesty and remarkable integrity as an artist and human being." Other authors who were friends of Maeve have posted messages online, including Ian Rankin, who tweeted, "She had time for everybody. Perhaps because her stories came from all of us and for all of us."

Maeve's most famous work was the novel Circle of Friends, which became a feature film starring Minnie Driver in 1995. During her lifetime she sold over 40 million books worldwide and she continued working up until 2010 when her final novel, Minding Frankie, was published.

Image courtesy of WENN.com.