As he would like it, no nonsense
Leo and former taoisigh pay respects but family to fore at Cosgrave funeral
WHEN his wife Vera died last year, Liam Cosgrave told Monsignor John Wilson he wanted ‘no speeches and no nonsense’ at her funeral Mass. The former taoiseach received a similar funeral himself yesterday, very low-key compared with the more recent State funerals for Charles Haughey, Garret FitzGerald and Albert Reynolds.
At the Cosgrave family’s request, there was very limited State involvement in the requiem Mass at the Church of the Annunciation in Rathfarnham, south Dublin.
While the coffin was carried to the altar by ten military policemen, led by Sergeant Pat Garvey, it was sons and grandsons who carried Mr Cosgrave to the hearse before a private burial, that was closed to the general public and the media, at Goldenbridge Cemetery in Inchicore.
Mr Cosgrave, at 97 the oldest former European leader at the time
‘Dad gave us affection, kindness, love, loyalty’
of his death, was laid to rest beside his father, William T Cosgrave, first president of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State and effectively the first taoiseach.
The chief mourners were his three children, Mary, Liam Jr and Ciarán, and their families. The small church was filled to overflowing with politicians of all hues, including the only three living members of Mr Cosgrave’s Cabinet in the Fine GaelLabour coalition that served between 1973 and 1977 – former finance minister Richie Ryan, 88, justice minister Paddy Cooney 86, and Gaeltacht minister Tom O’Donnell 91, who was accompanied by his nephew, Fine Gael senator Kieran O’Donnell.
Also present were all living former taoisigh – John Bruton, Bertie Ahern, Brian Cowen and Enda Kenny – as well as Leo Varadkar.
They were joined by many serving senior and junior ministers, including Regina Doherty, Paul Kehoe, Catherine Byrne, Charlie Flanagan, Mary Mitchell O’Connor, Simon Coveney, Simon Harris and, a very late arrival, Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy. Also present were Fine Gael MEPs Brian Hayes and Mairéad McGuinness.
The Labour Party leader Brendan Howlin was joined by his predecessor Joan Burton, while two former PD leaders – Des O’Malley and Mary Harney – also attended.
Current and former politicians present included Seán Barrett, Jerry Buttimer, Helen McEntee, Michael Noonan, Olivia Mitchell, Tom Kitt, Louis Belton, David Andrews and Monica Barnes.
Mr Cosgrave’s remains were accepted into the church by the Archbishop of Dublin, the Most Reverend Diarmuid Martin, who also performed the commendation, while the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Jude Thaddeus Okolo, led the diplomatic corps.
The Defence Forces presence was headed by the Chief of Staff, Vice Admiral Mark Mellett.
President Higgins, who is overseas, was represented by his aidede-camp Colonel Michael Kiernan.
Members of the Council of State, on which Mr Cosgrave, as a former taoiseach, served for over 40 years, also attended, as did many members of the judiciary.
They heard of Mr Cosgrave’s deep religious faith and of how, on a visit to Rome with his parents when he was 14, he had his first audience with a Pope, Pius XI.
His was ‘a solid, practical faith, not ostentatious’, parish priest Fr Martin Cosgrove said.
Later, in a short eulogy, Monsignor Wilson said: ‘He loved his family, he loved his country, he loved his faith, he was a patriot in the very best sense of that term. Throughout his life, he devoted himself to what he saw as the common good. No one would ever doubt his integrity.’
Liam Cosgrave Jr, a third-generation TD in the family, laughed as he said his father ‘wasn’t a fan of eulogies, so I’m not going to do anything