Tributes have poured in for Irish businessman Ben Dunne who has died aged 74.

The Cork native is understood to have been holidaying in Dubai when he is believed to have suffered a heart attack. Mr Dunne was well-known for his family's business Dunnes Stores, and he was one of the most recognisable faces in Irish business.

Mr Dunne is survived by his wife Mary, his daughter Caroline and three sons Robert, Nicholas and Mark. Mr Dunne's son Robert led tributes to him, hailing him as a "good and decent" man.

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In a tribute shared on social media, Robert wrote: "‘I’m going to miss him in a way I can’t even describe in words. ‘My dad is dead.

"He had a massive heart attack and just didn’t make it. Simple as that. Overall, in the final analysis, he was a good and decent man."

Ben Dunne was the former director of his family’s firm, Dunnes Stores, which his father also named Ben had established in the 1944. Mr Dunne made international headlines in the 1980s when he was kidnapped by the IRA and held for a week.

He was eventually released after a ransom of £1 million was paid. Mr Dunne would go on to become a highly successful entrepreneur in his own right.

In the 1990s, he opened up Ben Dunne Gyms in Dublin, Meath and Laois which are still running successfully to this day.

A spokesperson for the Department of Affairs told Dublin Live it is providing consular assistance. A spokesman said: "The Department of Foreign Affairs is aware of the case and is providing consular assistance.

"The Department does not comment on the detail of individual cases."

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