An Irish priest who describes himself as one of Dolly Parton’s “first big fans” has praised her as a “person of love”. 

Last night, Dolly’s family announced that the much loved singer had died at the age of 80, following a brief battle with cancer.

In a singing career spanning seven decades, the country music singer won 10 Grammy awards, sold over 100 million records across the world and also wrote  some 3,000 songs.

On Newstalk Breakfast, Irish priest Fr Brian Darcy praised her as a “brave girl” who grew up in rural poverty but became a household name the world over. 

“The first time I met her and talked to her was in 1972 in Nashville,” he recalled. 

“At that stage, she was the real singing partner with Porter Wagner.

“But I could see from the songs she was writing, Tennessee, Mountain Home, Coat To Many Colors and all of those early songs that she had an amazing ability to look at life, put it in a song and get a melody for it. 

“She just had a gift for that and she worked hard at that gift.”

Dolly Parton in 1977. Picture by Adam Scull-PHOTOlink /MediaPunch/Alamy.com.

Although she sang in her local church from an early age, Dolly had bigger dreams and decided to try her hand at making it big in Nashville - the heartland of country music in America. 

Once there, she soon had one extraordinary stroke of good luck.

“She had no money and she was down at the laundromat doing her washing her material,” Fr Darcy said. 

“She didn't even know how to work the machine and a very kind man showed her how to work the machine. 

“That kind man, they met on that very first day in Nashville, was Carl Dean and they were married for almost 60 years.” 

Dolly Parton. Picture by: Alamy.com.

Fame and unimaginable wealth soon came her way, but Fr Darcy praised her as a woman who was always able to “stay herself all the time”. 

Her own father had grown up illiterate and she donated millions of dollars to the cause of literacy, setting up her own foundation, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which emails free books to children. 

“She would have been an incredible billionaire,” he said. 

“But I think you say that she didn't get enough credit for it publicly.

“The conversations I had with her, she said that she had a strong faith; her grandfather was a Baptist minister, a preacher, and didn't agree with many of the things and the way she dressed a lot of the time, but still remained friends with her. 

“She had that background; her mother could tell Bible stories from memory.”

Last night, Dolly’s family announced that the much loved singer had died at the age of 80, following a brief battle with cancer.Last night, Dolly’s family announced that the much loved singer had died at the age of 80, following a brief battle with cancer.

Last night, Dolly’s family announced that the much loved singer had died at the age of 80, following a brief battle with cancer.

Politically as well, Dolly espoused compassion and tolerance to all men and women who walked the earth, even if such views might not have been popular with some of her country music fan base. 

“She took liberal views in LGBT,” Fr Darcy said. 

“Nashville is not the most forward-looking place in the world and the South is not the most.

“But she didn't get into any rows about it, but she supported the people on the margins along the way and Black Lives Matter - that was a big thing for a country star to do.”

Dolly Parton. Picture by: Alamy.com.

Dolly is due to be laid to rest in a small, private family funeral and will be buried next to her husband, Carl Dean, who died last year. 

The send off might be small , but Fr Darcy feels sure she will be remembered fondly. 

“She was a brave fighter, she was a courageous person,” he said. 

“She was a person of faith and she was a person of love and she was just herself, no matter what anybody said.”

Main image: Dolly Parton. Picture by: Alamy.com.