'He could be a grump and that's why I loved him' - Sean Moncrieff pays tribute to Newstalk panelist David Carey

Warm tributes have been paid to child psychologist David Carey who passed away after a battle with cancer.

Dr Carey had been a panelist of the Sean Moncrieff show for the past decade, contributing to the weekly parenting slot. He was also a contributor to the Irish Independent.

Moncrieff broke the news of Dr Carey's passing on his show today.

“I do have a bit of bad news to share with you… for the last four or five months we’ve had various people filling in for David, very well it should be said, but we’ve had a lot of people texting in wondering where David was," he said.

"David had been struggling with ill health. He was given a diagnosis of cancer some months back."

Moncrieff's voice cracked with emotion as announced that he learned yesterday that Dr Carey had passed away.

"We are really, really devastated," he said. For me anyway, he's somebody I've known for 10 years and we've had a conversation for 10 years.

"He could be a bit of a grump and that's why I loved him."

He added:  “Next Wednesday we’re not going to do parenting we’ll play an extended interview that we did with David some years back.”

Fans of Dr Carey's flooded Twitter with tributes to the much-loved child psychologist following the news.

One of our most beloved contributors, David Carey, has passed away.

I first met him when I was working on @SeanMoncrieff a few years ago and he was one of the nicest humans you could hope to meet. He said 'hello, how are you?' in a sing-song way each Wednesday.

— Jess Kelly (@jesskellynt) April 20, 2018

I often annoyed David Carey with silly parenting questions as he sat in the reception @NewstalkFM. Always gracious, he listened and imparted his unique wisdom. So sad he hear of his passing. RIP

— Jonathan Healy (@jonathanhealy) April 20, 2018

@SeanMoncrieff very sad to hear of David Carey's passing. He seemed like such a good man and a rock of sense. He'll be missed.

— Leah (@GreenNotCabbage) April 20, 2018

Genuinely devastated to hear that David Carey has died. His parenting slot on @SeanMoncrieff was the soundtrack to my trips to and from the hospital with my wife pre-the birth of our son. Constantly saying to ourselves 'oh, must remember that advice'

— Steve O'Rourke (@steveohrourke) April 20, 2018

@SeanMoncrieff Well, safe to say I am truly gutted at the news of David Carey's death. Listening to him on the parenting slot was a highlight of my week, such a warm and wise man, he will be so very missed, not least by you Sean and your team. X

— Liz McGauley (@lizzer72) April 20, 2018

So sad to hear of David Carey’s passing. Got to meet him in person once, & he more than lived up to all my high expectations.
I’m not a parent, but I loved the Parenting Slot: the importance of kindness seemed his theme. An excellent legacy. RIP.@SeanMoncrieff

— Camille Loftus (@CamilleLoftus) April 20, 2018

Oh that is sad. Parenting expert David Carey from @SeanMoncrieff show has died. I always enjoyed his wisdom & humour. He will be missed.

— Eleanor Fitzsimons (@EleanorFitz) April 20, 2018

So very sorry to hear of David Carey's death @SeanMoncrieff . His parenting slot was unmissable even for those of us with grown up kids. RIP. @NewstalkFM

— Sinead Ryan (@sinead_ryan) April 20, 2018

I am so sorry to hear about the passing of the psychologist David Carey. He was fascinating, engaging and incredibly warm. I loved listening to his parenting advice, and he had a great understanding of the work of teachers too. Condolences to all who loved him. @SeanMoncrieff

— Ciara Reilly (@PrimEdTeacher) April 20, 2018

I'm very sad to hear about the passing of Dr David Carey. Always loved his slot and learnt a lot over the years. My possible future children will be very grateful I tuned in. RIP David @SeanMoncrieff

— Kevin (@Shepnosis) April 20, 2018

@SeanMoncrieff I don't have children. Maybe; hopefully I will in the future. I made sure to listen when David Carey was on your show. It was much more than a parenting slot. I can't define it but unexpetedly I feel such loss. I can't imagine the loss felt by those close to him.

— James Mackenzie (@MackenzieThe3rd) April 20, 2018

@SeanMoncrieff so sad to hear about the passing of David Carey, I've a 17 & 19 yr old so his advice was brilliant down through the years. Thoughts are with his family and of course your team. RIP

— Deborah Curran (@DeborahCurran) April 20, 2018