Military honours as leaders, family and public gather

CHARLES J Haughey was small in stature but massive in achievements, his removal service at Donnycarney Church heard yesterday.

Delivering the homily at the official reception in the Church of Our Lady of Consolation, Mr Haughey’s brother Fr Eoghan Haughey said the former Taoiseach had been larger than life in his capacity, his accomplishments, his kindness, his triumphs and defeats, his failures and victories.

“His was an extraordinary life, a talent and personality that dominated, and seemed fascinating, in the age in which he lived, probably more than any other politician in his time,” said Fr Haughey.

The official reception of Mr Haughey’s remains in Donnycarney was attended by many of the country’s civic and religious leaders.

They included President Mary McAleese and her husband Martin — who had cut short a trip to Africa — the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, Cardinal Desmond Connell, the Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, Tánaiste Mary Harney, Ceann Comhairle Dr Rory O’Hanlon, as well as many serving and former TDs and senators.

Earlier yesterday, thousands of people had filed past the open coffin in the mortuary chapel of the church to pay their respects to Mr Haughey.

Shortly after 5pm, the coffin was transferred to the church, draped in the Tricolour, and escorted by a military party. The traditional lament, Marbhna Luimnigh, was played as the procession proceeded to the altar. The coffin was followed by his widow, Maureen, his four children, Ciarán, Eimear, Conor and Seán, his grandchildren and close relatives.

In his opening prayer, Archbishop Martin said those who attended came under different titles.

“We are here as a nation led by President Mary McAleese, remembering one whose many years of public life impacted upon the economy and the society,” he said.

Dr Martin said that some were there as family and others were there from the community and from the parish of Donnycarney, “where he had roots both personal and in his capacity as a public representative”.

The 40-minute service also included several songs from the Ó Riada mass, the Schubert song Ave Maria and the traditional air Seán Ó Di, played on the pipes by Paddy Moloney of the Chieftains.

In a personal reflection, the poet Anthony Cronin, a close friend of Mr Haughey’s for 60 years, said that the late Taoiseach and leader of Fianna Fáil was a complex man but was also in his own way a simple man.

“Charlie was always noticeable in any company. He had that rare type of vitality,” he said.

He described his personality as having a magnetic pull like a field of force and said that even as a young man, he had a mark of destiny.

The Requiem Mass for the State funeral will take place at noon today in Donnycarney, after which the internment will take place in St Fintan’s Cemetery in Sutton at 3pm.

The cortège to the graveyard will be accompanied by a marching military escort, and full military honours, including a volley of shots, will be rendered. The Taoiseach will deliver the graveside oration.