Robert Redford's ties to Ireland over the years as Hollywood mourns the death of screen icon

Hollywood is in mourning following the death of Academy-Award winning director, producer and actor Robert Redford at the age of 89.

Redford, whose career as a stage and film actor spanned six decades, passed away in his sleep surrounded by his loved ones on Tuesday, according to his publicist

Redford rose to international stardom following his appearance in the the 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and would soon become Hollywood's go-to leading man, becoming the US's top grossing box office attraction in the 1970s.

In 1980 he made his directorial film debut with Ordinary People, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Director, and he would go on to helm acclaimed films such as A River Runs Through It and Quiz Show.

While Redford was famed for embodying the quintessential American archetype of the handsome, charming, yet ruggedly independent gentleman, the Hollywood icon had Irish heritage through both his parents and he often attributed his wild and rebellious streak and his stoic nature to his Irish roots.

"[I] come from a dark family [that] emigrated from Ireland and Scotland: Didn't talk much; you don't complain much; you don't ask for anything; you bear the brunt of whatever comes your way, and you do it with grace," he said in an interview with NPR in 2014.

In July 2008, Redford travelled to Ireland to receive an Honorary Degree from Trinity College for his contribution to film and his work as an activist on environmental issues and Native American rights.

While giving a public lecture in Trinity in advance of receiving his honorary degree, Redford spoke about how he had long been hoping to make a film about Michael Collins, having learned of the famed Irish revolutionary from his grandmother Lena Taylor, whose own grandmother came from Kircubbin in Co Down.

However, the screen legend scrapped his plans after learning that Irish filmmaker Neil Jordan was working on a project about the Cork soldier and politician.

"I remember my grandmother talking about him but I was too young to understand it. It's a great story... a guy who flew so close to the sun... so reviled by one side and loved by the other," said Redford at the time.

"When we were shooting Out of Africa I asked a writer to write up a screenplay and a lot of the Irish crew (on the set) said, 'That's not a good idea.'

"Then I heard that Neil was working on it. He did a thesis on it so ... he got there and I didn't."

Redford was a regular visitor to Dublin over the years and there were reports in 2000 that the Oscar-winner purchased two adjoining penthouses in Howth to use as a holiday home.

During his visit to Trinity in 2008, the actor shot down the rumours but admitted that had been something he had long dreamt of doing.

"I love Dublin and I love Ireland, but no. I'd love to," he said. "I think the way things are in my country, it’s a good time to do it."

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