There is little doubt that Richard Harris, who died in a London hospital last Friday night, will be remembered as one of this country's finest contributions to the art of cinema - perhaps the finest. The Limerick-born actor had a distinctive, brooding presence that turned the best of his screen roles into classic performances.
Long before Hollywood discovered Liam Neeson and Colin Farrell, he was our leading male actor and throughout a long and prodigious career sustained a high profile. It was a profile to which spice was often added by way of his off-screen performances as a wild man about town, a part he played with gusto, swagger and unpredictability.
But it is the on-screen performances that matter and the earthy Shakespearean qualities that Harris brought to an array of characters. While his choice of roles on occasion led him into Tinseltown mediocrity, his vintage portrayals - in This Sporting Life, A Man Called Horse, Unforgiven and most remarkably as the Bull McCabe in the film adaptation of John B Keane's The Field - have all left their indelible mark on the history of cinema.
It is of course now forgotten that he served an apprenticeship in the theatre, making his debut on the London stage in Brendan Behan's The Quare Fellow, in a production made famous by the innovative and daring Joan Littlewood whose death just preceded that of Harris's.
The growls and whispers of his unique vocal style became a trademark and will forever be associated with the imaginary landscapes of Camelot and McArthur Park.
Here was an actor with an amazing capacity to prove wrong those who dared to write him off, time after time resuscitating not only his career with the perfect role but also his own life: Harris the survivor came through TB and conquered a chronic alcohol problem.
As well as acting and his headline-making lust for life, Harris's other great passion was rugby and in particular Limerick rugby. It was through his love of the game that he often demonstrated his pride in those Limerick roots from which he emerged in the Fifties.
Harris fell ill in August after shooting the second film in the Harry Potter series. Poignantly, the Harris magic is about to appear on cinema screens again in his repeat role as the Wizard Dumbledore in this new Harry Potter film. It will give a new generation of cinemagoers a chance to see that magic work.