Columnist Terry Keane dies after long illness

The columnist Terry Keane has passed away in St Vincent's Hospital after a long illness at the age of 68.

She is survived by her children Jane, Madeleine and Justine - her son Tim died in 2004.

Ms Keane was born Ann Teresa O'Donnell of Irish parents, a doctor and a bank official, in Guildford, Surrey, in 1939.

She spent time in Ireland as a child during the war and returned to study medicine in Trinity College Dublin and dropped out without taking a degree, later marrying barrister, Ronan Keane.

The couple separated in the 1990s.

Ms Keane admitted to having a 27-year-long affair with former Taoiseach Charles Haughey on RTE's 'Late Late Show'.