‘Love you, brother’: Niall Horan pays tribute to late friend and bandmate Liam Payne

Mullingar singer and former One Direction band member Niall Horan has paid tribute to his former bandmate, Liam Payne, in a heartbreaking social media post.

The 31-year-old British singer died following a fall from a third floor balcony at a hotel in Buenos Aires Argentina on Wednesday night.

In a statement posted on Instagram and Facebook this morning, Niall said he was “absolutely devastated” by the passing of his “amazing friend”.

“It just doesn’t seem real,” he said of the loss.

“Liam had an energy for life and a passion for work that was infectious. He was the brightest in every room and always made everyone feel happy and secure.

“All the laughs we had over the years, sometimes about the simplest of things, keep coming to mind through the sadness.

“We got to live out our wildest dreams together and I will cherish every moment we had forever. The bond and friendship we had doesn’t happen often in a lifetime.”

Liam Payne had been in Argentina to attend Niall’s concert earlier in the week and footage of him and his girlfriend singing and dancing at the show was posted to his Snapchat story.

In a number of further posts to Snapchat, Liam said he was “so proud” of his former band mate, saying “what a great night” following the show.

He also posted two photos of himself with Niall after the show, captioning them “so happy I got to see Niall in concert”.

That was a sentiment that Niall shared following their reunion at the show.

“I feel so fortunate that I got to see him recently,” he said.

“I sadly didn’t know that after saying goodbye and hugging him that evening, I would be saying goodbye forever. It’s heartbreaking.

“My love and condolences go out to Geoff, Karen, Ruth, Nicola and, of course, his son, Bear. Thank you for everything, Payne. Love you brother. Nialler.”