‘Albert was just like all the rest of us’

Fondly remembered by the people of his native Rooskey, Albert Reynolds has been described as a "kind gentleman and the pride of the village" by those who knew him.

Born in 1932 in the village which straddles the counties of Roscommon, Longford, and Leitrim, to a family of three boys and one girl, his father made his living as a cabinet maker and undertaker while his mother tended to the children.

He attended the local school, and was yesterday remembered by former classmate Celia Hoey as being bright and cheerful. “Albert was just like all the rest of us, no airs of graces,” she recalled.