Tributes have been paid to the renowned best-selling Irish author Maeve Binchy has died at the age of 72. She passed away at home in Dublin, with her husband by her side after suffering a brief illness.

40 million copies of her books were sold all over the world, there were 16 novels worth and they were translated into over 30 languages. From her debut with Light a Penny Candle in 1982 – written in her spare time while she was a journalist for The Irish Times - to her latest book Minding Frankie published two years ago, her writing was loved by for the colourful stories which were all set in her birth place of Dublin.

On Twitter, fellow Dubliner, Louis Walsh said RIP asking his fans to retweet out of respect for her. Edinburgh-based crime writer Ian Rankin tweeted "Maeve Binchy wasa gregarious, larger than life, ebullient recorder of human foibles and wonderment. I'm taking a drink to her"

In 2010, she was given a much-deserved gong for Lifetime Achievement at the Irish Book Awards. On her website there's a recent and very poignant admission to fans which reads: My health isn't so good these days and I can't travel around to meet people the way I used to. But I'm always delighted to hear from readers, even if it takes me a while to reply."

Maeve Binchy is survived by a husband, writer Gordon Snell.

Written & Presented by Marverine Cole

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