Moira Hoey (née Deady), who played Mrs Riordan in The Riordans, RTÉ's spectacularly popular soap opera from the 1960s and 1970s, has died at the grand age of 88.

Though best known for her TV work, Hoey also appeared in films such as

Angela’s Ashes, The Tiger’s Tale

and

This Is My Father

. She was, for those of us old enough to remember black-and-white telly, something of an icon.