Country music icon Dolly Parton dies aged 80

The 'Queen of Country Music' Dolly Parton has died aged 80, her family has confirmed.

Parton's nephew Bryan Seaver announced her death in a video posted to social media.

"My name is Bryan Seaver, son of Cassie Parton, and I'm representing the Parton and Owens family today, announcing the passing of my aunt, Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean," he said.

"Sister, sis, and Granny to one generation and Gigi to the next.

"This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago, before I fully absorbed it as a future reality.

"As her head of security for more than two decades, a role my father Larry held before me, I have imagined the heaviness of this moment but haven't truly felt it until now."

"It is an honour, an honour that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness. But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly.

"Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus, surely met by Carl (her late husband), her parents and countless others who have watched her and longed to meet her in the heavens.

"By her example, we believed that anything was possible. She never saw a door she couldn't open, and the doors she opened made and changed history."

Last week, Dolly Parton told People about her ongoing health problems, and said that that she sidelined her own health while she was looking after her husband Carl Thomas Dean, who died last year.

Born into a poor farming family from the rural Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, Dolly Parton went on to become one of the most recognisable musicians of all time, enjoying a career that spanned six decades.

Her most famous hits include 'Jolene', '9 to 5', and 'I Will Always Love You' - an emotional ballad penned  as a farewell to her mentor Porter Wagoner, which later became a global hit when Whitney Houston covered it in 1992.

In all, the songwriter released 49 studio albums and won 11 Grammys, including a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011.

Parton also had a prolific acting career across film and television. Her most well-known big-screen role came in 1980, when she starred alongside Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin in the comedy 9 to 5. The title track of the same name would go on to win two Grammys and earn an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song.

The singer was a successful businesswoman and philanthropist. She co-founded the hit-making Sandollar production company and transformed a Tennessee theme park into Dollywood. Her Dollywood Foundation and Imagination Library (born from witnessing her father's struggle with illiteracy) has distributed nearly 25 million books annually across five countries - including Ireland.