Irish poet John Montague passed away in the Clinique Parc Impérial in Nice, France in the early hours of this morning.

The 87-year-old had undergone major surgery to remove a knot in his colon. 

His widow, American novelist Elizabeth Wassell, told the Irish Times he was “recovering nicely” until yesterday, when he contracted a fever and began to decline. 

John’s daughters, Oonagh and Sibyl Montague, flew to Nice from Ireland to be by his bedside in his final hours.

Elizabeth said: “On Thursday night we were sitting so closely. We were both lonely when we were apart. I suggested to John that it was a second courtship for us. He smiled warmly.

“The French don’t understand the concept of a wake, but they let us stay with him longer than usual."

John's funeral and burial will take place at Garvaghy, County Tyrone.