A former taxi driver who was illiterate until he was 53 said he lived in "constant fear" that someone would uncover the secret that he could not read or write.
Country music star Nathan Carter has spoken about how losing his best friend this year inspired him to write a track in his memory entitled Wings to Fly.
The chorus to his new single has just been illuminated on the walls of the eight-storey high Mater hospital as part of a fundraising campaign for the Eccles Street facility in Dublin.
Other luminaries to contribute to the new Words of Light initiative include U2 and Imelda May, past patients, and members of the public who want to remember someone they can’t spend this Christmas with.
The singer said that after a year of darkness for so many, he’s hoping people will take comfort from his particular message. “I wrote a song earlier this year after one of my best friends passed away suddenly, a guy called Nicky James. I wrote this in memory of him. It’s called