Tributes paid to Sean O’Leary
His wife Mary and their children Margaret, Anne, Patrick, Mary and Catherine, along with Mr O’Leary’s sisters, Anne Hurley and Mary Doherty, and brother Anthony, were joined by prominent figures in the world of politics, law and business for the funeral Mass at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in the Lough, Cork.
Chief celebrant and family friend, Fr Padraig Corkery, a lecturer at Maynooth, told the hundreds of mourners that glowing tributes in recent days had emphasised Mr O’Leary’s integrity, his keen sense of public service and his commitment to fairness and justice.
“These public and private tributes will no doubt bring some comfort to his family as they come to terms with his loss,” he said.
“But when all is said and done and all the tributes have been paid, it was his relationship with his family that ultimately defined Sean O’Leary.
“In essence, he was a family man. He was a loving husband and father who lavished love and energy on his wife and children. He made them the centre and focus of his very busy life.”
Mourners heard how Mr O’Leary described his seven grandsons as “his footprints in the sands of time”.
The Mass was concelebrated by 12 priests including Bishop of Cork and Ross Dr John Buckley.
Mr O’Leary was buried afterwards in St Finbarr’s cemetery.
He died at Cork University Hospital last Friday, aged 65, after a short illness.
He had twice been a member of Seanad Éireann and served as a Circuit Court judge before his elevation to the High Court bench.
In recent years, he chaired the Residential Institutions Redress Board (RIRB), which was responsible for compensating the victims of abuse in State orphanages.
He was credited with getting the system moving after the previous chairman, Judge Mary Laffoy, left the post following a period marred by protracted rows with the Government on the board’s independence.
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