Acclaimed Irish traditional musician Charlie Lennon has died aged 85.

For over fifty years, he was celebrated as a fiddle player and composer, writing many tunes which became standards for musicians.

Born in Kiltyclogher, Leitrim in 1938, Lennon began playing piano aged 7, also starting out on the fiddle under the tutelage of his brother.

In his late teens and early twenties, he played with several céilí bands, before enrolling at Liverpool University to study nuclear physics. During his time in the England, he played with the Liverpool Céilí band, receiving various accolades, including two All-Ireland titles.

He later relocated to Spiddal in Galway, where he began composing his most well-known tunes, many of which ended up in his 1993 book Musical Memories.

President Michael D. Higgins was among those paying tribute to the late musician.

"With the passing of Charlie Lennon Irish music has lost one of its most talented and generous artists,” he said in a statement on Sunday.  “Charlie Lennon was an outstanding musician and composer who leaves behind a rich catalogue of compositions.

“From deep connections in traditional music, growing up in a musical house, he learned he fiddle from his late brother, the acclaimed Ben Lennon.

“His compositions such as ‘The Twelve Pins’, ‘The Smiling Bride’, and ‘The Road to Cashel’ among so many others will live on through the many musicians who will continue to play them in the decades to come.

“Named TG4 Composer of the Year in 2006, he will be rightly remembered as both a superb composer, both of traditional tunes and orchestral works and as an accomplished fiddler player and pianist. “