Christy Dignam, the lead singer with rock band Aslan, has sadly died.
The singer was diagnosed with amyloidosis, a rare blood disorder associated with certain cancers, in 2013 and was told he had just months to live. However, he has been fighting the disease for almost a decade.
The 'Crazy World' singer had been receiving palliative care at his Dublin home.
His family released a statement on the 16th of January which said that Dignam was admitted to Beaumont Hospital in July last year and spent “the next six months in the care of the Haematology and Cardiac Care team”.
News broke in the last few minutes that Christy has sadly passed away.
BREAKING: Christy Dignam, Aslan's frontman, has sadly passed away this afternoon pic.twitter.com/hkQigakaz0
— The Sunday Times Ireland (@ST__Ireland) June 13, 2023
Since December 2022 the singer has been “at home and is being cared for lovingly by family, with the support of a palliative care team.”
Aslan formed in 1982 and became one of the most popular bands on the Irish music scene throughout the 1980s and 1990s. The band is best known for their hit Crazy World, a song Dignam wrote after his daughter was born.
Last September Aslan were forced to postpone what would have been the biggest concert in of their career in the 3Arena as a result of what was described then as a “setback” with the singer’s ongoing cancer treatment.
President Statement
The President says "it's hard to believe" that Christy Dignam has left us.
In a statement, Michael D Higgins says, for the last 40 years, "Christy and his bandmates in Aslan made an enormous contribution to the cultural life of our nation".
He added, over recent years, "all of us have been struck by the dignity with which he lived with his illness and admired his dedication in continuing to both perform and record despite the challenges which he faced."
Christy Dignam is survived by his wife of over 30 years Kathryn, his daughter Kiera and three grand children.
