Dublin illustrator Holly Shortall designs charity tee in memory of friend Martyn Hett

Holly said Martyn's family and friends gave their blessing for the design to be printed on t-shirts.

Dublin illustrator Holly Shortall designs charity tee in memory of friend Martyn Hett

An Irish illustrator has designed a touching tribute t-shirt following the death of a friend in the Manchester bombing, writes Denise O'Donoghue.

Holly Shortall revealed the t-shirt on social media today, having previously shared the design with her followers.

"'Paint me like one of your French girls' he said. I finally got around to it," she wrote as she shared an illustration of Martyn surrounded by warm tributes about him from some of his favourite celebrities and media outlets.

"Martyn was an incredible human being, who was just so funny, smart and outrageous. He had many of Irish friends, fans and followers here and we were just obsessed with him," Holly said.

"I felt like the only thing I could do to honour him was a drawing, and it meant the world to hear it had made people smile - he would have adored those quotes!

"Someone on Twitter suggested making t-shirts to raise money and put me in touch with Philip who is printing them. They've been for sale a few hours now and raised nearly £700 (€801) already.

"Some of his friends and family will be wearing them tonight at a vigil in Manchester and I feel so incredibly honoured and privileged to be part of their evening."

Holly said Martyn's family and friends gave their blessing for the design to be printed on t-shirts, which will be produced by UK shop owner Philip Normal.

"My heart is bursting that with his family and friends blessing, my tribute to our friend Martyn Hett will be made into t-shirts by the wonderful Philip Normal with proceeds going to Martyn's family," she shared.

Normal said the money will either go directly to Martyn's family or to a charity of their choosing. He added that he and Holly were glad they could "create something positive in the face of such tragic events."

"Following a cry from social media that we produce it as a t-shirt, we thought it would be a fitting tribute to offer this design, with all profit going to Martyn's family, or a charity, organisation or project of their choice," he said.

"Martyn brought so much joy to people's lives in such a short amount of time, and he will never be forgotten. Through this t-shirt we would like to create something positive in the face of such tragic events."

Earlier this week Holly described the shock she felt after learning about the untimely death of Hett.

"Absolutely numb at the loss of our beautiful friend @martynhett," she said on Instagram.

"A shining light, an icon, the poster boy for living life to the full, you taught me to be outrageous, confident and most importantly, myself.

"I cannot believe I was booking flights for Manchester Pride to see you just hours before you left us.

"My thoughts are with your nearest and dearest at this devastating time."

The t-shirt can be purchased through the gofundme.com page sent up by Philip and Holly.

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