Dessie Hughes, who won the Champion Hurdle as both a jockey and a trainer, has died at the age of 71.
He enjoyed huge success not only in the training ranks but also as a jockey, riding Monksfield to win the Champion Hurdle in 1979 and also saddling Hardy Eustace to victory in the Cheltenham Festival highlight in 2004 and 2005.
Hughes, who had been battling illness, is survived by his wife Eileen, son and three-time champion Flat jockey Richard and daughter Sandra.
He was described as the "professional's professional" by Willie Mullins as tributes poured in from the racing world following the Kildare trainer's death at the age of 71.
Champion trainer Mullins told At The Races: "I would call him the professional's professional. He very seldom made a wrong choice.
"I remember the first time I rode in a professional race at Punchestown and I thought I'd follow Dessie Hughes.
"He won the race. I was third or fourth and I got such an insight on how to ride a race.
"He was a fantastic jockey and brought that same ability to his training career. He always had a top team of horses and a great team of loyal owners. He had a great team behind him. Our sympathy is with everyone."
Top owner JP McManus summed up the sombre mood in Ireland.
Speaking from Punchestown, he said: "It's a sad day, you could feel it the minute you walked into Punchestown how low the mood is.
"Dessie was a perfect gentleman, trainer, jockey - he was everything you would want in a person.
"He will be missed, but he won't be forgotten. His family are all in our thoughts."
Eddie O'Leary, racing manager for leading owners Gigginstown House Stud, who had horses with Hughes, said: "He was a fantastic trainer and a lovely man. He was a true gent."
Another of Hughes' patrons was Barry Connell, who sent him exciting novice chaser The Tullow Tank at the start of this season and also owned top hurdler Our Conor.
He said: "The first thing to say about Dessie is that he was an absolute gentleman and he had a fantastic career in racing.
"He was very much an old school trainer, who was very hands on and took great pride in his horses and his staff.
"He also took great pride in his family, particularly Richard. It was marvellous he was able to see him be champion jockey."
Six of Hughes' winners at the Cheltenham Festival, including Davy Lad in the 1977 Gold Cup, were for trainer Mick O'Toole.
He said: "Dessie was with me a long time and it was a lucky day for me when he came along.
"We had many great days together, and he rode six Cheltenham Festival winners for me.
"He was a very consistent rider, very strong in a finish and a great man to school horses."
Noel Meade, seven-times champion trainer in Ireland, was overcome with emotion.
He said: "He was a great friend and a pal to everyone really.
"Dessie was the sort of fella that nobody would have a bad word to say about. It's hard to talk about."
Fellow trainer Ted Walsh said: "He was a lovely man. All his life he wanted to be a jockey, and he turned out to be a hugely successful one. Then when he retired he wanted to be a trainer, and he turned out to be a hugely successful one.
"And with Richard being champion jockey - it's sad, but he achieved everything a father or man could want to do. Dessie achieved it.
"It's so sad that he's gone so quickly, he was a wonderful man.
"Racing will be all the poorer without him, and we will be too because he was a joy to meet."
Conor O'Dwyer, who rode Hardy Eustace in both his Champion Hurdle triumphs, said: "There are gentlemen and then there was Dessie Hughes.
"I've ridden for many good people during my career, but Dessie really stood out as a proper gentleman.
"We had some brilliant times together, some of the best times of my career. No one ever had a bad word to say about Dessie, and Dessie never had a bad word to say about anyone.
"He'd had some hard times, but he'd come through and seemed to be enjoying the best of his career. It's a sad day for everyone and for racing."
Britain's perennial champion jockey Tony McCoy tweeted: "Very sad to hear the passing of Dessie Hughes, great jockey & trainer and a very proud dad, my thoughts are with Eileen, Sandra and Richard. RIP."
Paul Hensey, general manager at the Curragh racecourse, said: "He was a gentleman through and through.
"He was a great trainer, a great rider and he was on our Curragh trainers liaison committee for some time. It was always a great pleasure to deal with him and to work for.
"It's very sad for his family and everybody who has worked for him."
When Hughes drove Monksfield to victory in the 1979 Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival, the partnership withstood the challenge of Sea Pigeon, ridden by Jonjo O'Neill, by three-quarters of a length.
O'Neill, a highly-successful trainer at Jackdaws Castle himself, tweeted: "So sad to hear of passing of Dessie Hughes. We had some great tussles in the past and he was a lovely man."