'One of the greatest': Daniel O'Donnell among Irish fans to pay tribute to Kris Kristofferson

Daniel O’Donnell has paid tribute to legendary country music star Kris Kristofferson, who died over the weekend.

Aged 88, the musician and actor died peacefully and surrounded by his family at his home in Maui, Hawaii, on Saturday, family spokeswoman Ebie McFarland said.

No cause of death was given, but he had suffered with memory loss for some time. 

“Saddened to hear of the passing of Kris Kristofferson,” Donegal country star Daniel said in a social media post.

“He was one of the greatest singer songwriters ever. I had the privilege of recording and singing a number of his songs over the years. May he rest in peace. Sympathies to all his family.”

Many Irish fans have also remembered Kristofferson for his support for Sinead O'Connor in the aftermath of her controversial appearance on SNL in October 1992.

The singer was mired in controversy after ripping up a photo of Pope John Paul II and urging viewers to “fight the real enemy” after a powerful redition of Bob Marley’s War.

In a 2010 interview on RTÉ One’s Saturday Night with Miriam, Kristofferson described the events that unfolded days later at a tribute concert to Bob Dylan.

mind when Kris Kristofferson came over, hugged her and told Sinéad O’Connor ‘don’t let the bastards get you down’ when she was being booed on stage, and then wrote this song about her pic.twitter.com/gbrGvkKS0F

— Sorcha Ní Nia (@Luiseach) September 29, 2024

"Well, it was Bob Dylan's birthday, I can't remember what birthday," Kristofferson told host O'Callaghan. "They were celebrating it at Madison Square Garden, I think.

"Sinéad had just recently on Saturday Night Live torn up a picture of The Pope in a gesture that I thought [was] very misunderstood. And she came out and got booed.

"I went out. They told me to get her off the stage and I said, 'I'm not about to do [that]. I went out and I said, 'Don't let the bastards get you down'. And she said, 'I'm not down' - and she sang. It was very courageous."

He later composed the song 'Sister Sinead' for O'Connor, who died in 2023, dedicated to that moment on stage at Madison Square Garden.

Kristofferson's family confirmed the news of his passing on his Instagram account, writing in the statement: “We’re all so blessed for our time with him.

“Thank you for loving him all these many years, and when you see a rainbow, know he’s smiling down at us all.”

Born in 1936 to an Air Force major general, Kristofferson served as an army ranger who flew helicopters in the US Army during his own stint in the service.

He also studied literature at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar after finishing his undergraduate degree at Pomona College in California.

Kristofferson later pivoted his career to music and headed to Nashville to pursue being a professional songwriter.

He went on to write standards such as Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down, which became a hit for Cash, For The Good Times, which became a number one for Ray Price, and Me And Bobby McGee, which was covered by Joplin.

Kristofferson was awarded a Golden Globe for his work opposite Barbra Streisand in the 1976 remake of musical romantic drama A Star is Born.