POP-icon Madonna jetted into Dublin on Tuesday to attend the funeral Mass of her close friend David Collins.
Wearing a black dress and escorted by both her bodyguard and female companions, Madonna presented a bouquet of flowers to Collins’ family.
She was joined by other well-known faces including Graham Norton and RTÉ presenter Brendan Courtney to pay their respects to the renowned Glenageary interior designer, who had only been diagnosed with skin cancer three weeks prior to his death.
After the burial at Shanganagh Cemetry Madonna gave a speech to the 80 guests who were invited to lunch at the Ritz-Carlton, and according to the family it was “absolutely beautiful”.
She explained that her friendship with the acclaimed designer began at the time she was performing Evita in London's West End, a time when she was alone in the city.
Collinswas an A-list interior designer, creating the interiors for London’s most famous restaurants and buildings including institutions such as The Wolseley, Claridge's Bar, Nobu Berkeley and The Connaught's bar.
He also worked with top chefs such as Marco Pierre White and Gordon Ramsey.
London-based Collins grew up in Dublin, originally studying architecture at the Colton Street School of Architecture before stumbling into interior design by chance.
In 1985 he founded his David Collins Studio in London, and after establishing himself, became a favourite for his sophisticated and innovate style amongst fashion designers including Jimmy Choo, Alexander McQueen and Bergdorf Goodman.
