The British man died peacefully at home on Wednesday at the age of 93.

His funeral will take place at 10am on Tuesday, May 5, in the Victorian Chapel Mount Jerome at Harold’s Cross, followed by cremation.

“[He is] deeply missed by his loving relations and many good friends and carers”, the funeral notice reads.

Born in Singapore before returning with his parents to the UK, the author wrote a number of children’s books, including Amy’s Wonderful Nest, The Supermarket Ghost, and The Phantom Horseman.

He also worked in media, including as a BBC radio producer in London, where he met his wife, Irish writer Maeve Binchy, in 1970.

The couple married in 1977 and lived together at a home in Dalkey in Dublin, Binchy’s hometown, where he continued to live following his wife’s death.

As a scriptwriter for television, he was known for writing episodes for the popular RTÉ children’s programme Wanderly Wagon.

Speaking on The Late Late Show in 2018, Mr Snell explained why the couple always dedicated their books to one another.

“We were lucky enough to both be publishing books, so we dedicated them to each other, which was all of them,” he said.

“It’s a fantastic thing to be able to do, and when we had a publication, there was a great ceremony.

“We always made great celebrations for everything, and we’d give each other the book and there was the dedication, tearful embraces, and it was a great occasion.”

He also revealed that he stopped including dedications in his books following Ms Binchy’s death in 2012.

“I haven’t dedicated them to anybody, because you couldn’t follow that. There isn’t any replacement, or any possibility of anybody else being the dedicatee as we used to call it,” he added.