'He stays with me always': Michael Fassbender pays tribute to Killarney 'mentor' Donie Courtney

'For me, he will always be my mentor. I will call on him in times of hardship and crisis and celebrate moments of joy with him. He stays with me always.'

In 2013 he wrote, produced and performed the one-man play God Has No Country, based on the life of Killarney man and wartime hero Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty (the Vatican Pimpernel) who rescued over 5,000 Jews during the Second World War. Picture: Don MacMonagle

HOLLYWOOD A-lister Michael Fassbender has paid a heartfelt tribute to his close friend, mentor and fellow Killarney man Donie Courtney who died this weekend.

The star of movies Hunger and 12 Years A Slave told how he was 17 years old when he first met actor and acting coach Donie.