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Matty Ryan:MATTHEW (Matty) Ryan, who has died aged 65, was a jeweller based in Thurles, Co Tipperary, who built up an international clientele that included royalty, and a network of friends that stretched from his home town to Cape Town, taking in London, Paris, New York, Dubai, Delhi and the Greek islands.

An astute businessman who developed the family shop on Liberty Square, Thurles, into a magnet for diamond lovers while also supplying trophies to race courses across Ireland, Ryan was a generous contributor to local causes and a tenacious fundraiser. As chairman and chief fundraiser of the North Tipperary Hospice Home Care, he raised almost €1.5 million through an endless round of social events, many of them held aboard a red London bus that he was given as a present by his friends Louis and Kate Ronan.