Irish singer Bridie Gallagher dead at 87

BELFAST, Northern Ireland, Jan. 10 (UPI) -- Irish recording star Bridie Gallagher has died of pneumonia in a Belfast hospital after fracturing her hip in a fall last month, her family said. She was 87.

Gallagher's son, Jim Livingstone, told the Belfast Telegraph the performer known as "the Girl from Donegal" throughout her six-decade-long career was surrounded by her family when she died Monday morning.

Born in the Irish town of Creeslough, Gallagher lived most of her life in Northern Ireland.

Famous for her renditions of "A Mother's Love's a Blessing" and "The Boys From the County Armagh," Gallagher sang at the Royal Albert Hall in London, as well as New York's Carnegie Hall and the Sydney Opera House, the Telegraph said. She last took the stage in 2000.

Livingstone told the newspaper his mother watched "Bridie: The Girl From Donegal," a new documentary about her career, narrated by his daughter Teresa, before she died.

"Bridie had a quiet, peaceful death with her family around her," the elder Livingstone said. "I am so pleased she was able to watch the documentary about her life before she passed. She watched it four times and was absolutely thrilled with it. My mother was particularly proud of Teresa presenting it, and had actually commented to me that she was pleased it ran before she died. In terms of timing, it couldn't have been shown at a more perfect time or been a more fitting tribute."