Hearts swell as surgeon laid to rest

THE number of people whose lives were saved by the late cardiologist, Maurice Neligan, could have filled the church in Dublin where his funeral Mass was held many times over.

Mourners at the ceremony for one of the country’s best-known surgeons at the Church of the Assumption in Booterstown heard he had performed over 14,000 open heart procedures during his long career in medicine.

“Many hearts are beating today thanks to his skills,” said local parish priest Monsignor Seamus Conway, who said the congregation had gathered to give thanks for “the lives saved, the lives prolonged and the lives enhanced” by Maurice.