'It’s an honour to have had you as a friend' as tributes are paid to country singer Rose-Marie Kane after her sudden death

A message announcing the news was posted on her Facebook page on Friday (June 7).

It said: “It is with heavy hearts & enormous great sadness, that we have to announce the sudden passing of our much loved Rose-Marie, in her beloved second home of Blackpool.

“Rest in peace, dear heart.”

She grew up on a farm just outside Newry, studied acting in Los Angeles, and for several years lived in Las Vegas.

She has appeared on TV many times on shows including the hugely-popular Des O’Connor Show, and once said that playing the London Palladium was her biggest achievement (on one of those occasions, Princess Diana was in the audience).

Belfast-based radio and TV presenter Robin Elliot spoke of his and his wife heartbreak at losing one of his friends. He wrote on Facebook: “t is with heavy hearts and enormous great sadness, that we have to announce the sudden passing of our much loved @rosemarieirishsingerofficial in her beloved second home of Blackpool.

“We are so grateful for the time we got to spend in Blackpool with her recently and are so grateful for her friendship over the years. We shall miss her terribly.

“Rest in peace, dear heart.”

The NI director of LGBTQ+ magazine GNI, Daniel May, wrote on Facebook that he was “shocked and devastated” by the news.

He added: “We were as thick as thieves. Always had so much fun. It’s an honour to have had you as a friend.”