Noel Curran, Director General of RTÉ, this morning paid tribute to the broadcaster, Terry Wogan, who has passed away at the age of 77.

"Terry Wogan," Noel Curran said, "was a consummate broadcaster and an ambassador for Irish talent in the UK – particularly during some difficult times in Ireland's relationship with Britain. He is fondly remembered for his early years in RTE and still has many friends in the organisation.

"I knew him from meeting him at Eurovision and I found his on-air humour and warmth was always there in person. He has made a unique contribution to broadcasting in the UK and to the stature of Irish broadcasters internationally. Our thoughts are with his family."

While he was brought up as a Roman Catholic and educated by the Jesuits at Crescent College in Limerick and later at Belvedere College in Dublin, he was a self-declared atheist.

"There were hundreds of churches, all these missionaries breathing fire and brimstone, telling you how easy it was to sin, how you'd be in hell. We were brainwashed into believing," he said of his formative years in an interview in New Internationalist. But in his case it didn't last. Wogan came to the conclusion that there was – or is – no god. He confirmed to Gay Byrne on The Meaning of Life that he was an atheist, adding that he respected those "who have the gift of faith."

He is survived by his wife Helen and their three children.