AG leads funeral tributes to Brady

FORMER ATTORNEY general Rory Brady had never sought the limelight despite his achievements, his successor in the office, Paul Gallagher, said yesterday.

“It was sufficient for him to serve the country which he loved so much,” said Mr Gallagher.

In a eulogy at Mr Brady’s funeral Mass at the Church of the Sacred Heart, Donnybrook, Dublin, the Attorney General referred to his friend’s modesty, sense of duty, his gift for friendship and the trust he inspired. “Rory wore his success so lightly that it never distorted or affected those great qualities,” he said. Mr Brady, who was attorney general from 2002 to 2007, died in Dublin on Monday after a long illness. Yesterday’s attendance at the concelebrated Mass, with chief celebrant parish priest Fr Martin Clarke, included representatives from the legal and political worlds, as well as family and friends.

Mr Brady was buried later in Mount Jerome cemetery.

Mr Gallagher spoke of the outstanding lawyer and devoted family man who faced his illness with great courage. Mr Brady, he said, had never been taken in by success. He was “a proud Synge Street boy, and first, last and always, a Dub”.

He praised his contribution to the peace process while attorney general and referred to the well-attended talks he gave on the issue when he was a visiting professor at Harvard law school.

Referring to his “infectious sense of humour”, he recalled how Mr Brady would describe his Saturday morning lie-ins as being in “the national interest”.

He recalled being in the Olympic stadium with him in 1990 when following Ireland’s progress in the World Cup. After a whirlwind tour of Rome, Mr Brady had announced to the unimpressed soccer devotees, in an inimitable Dublin accent, that “me Gucci shoes are killing me”.

He quoted Robert Frost's Leave a Trailto emphasise the brilliant path taken by Mr Brady:

“Do not go where the path may lead/ Go instead where there is no path/ And leave a trail/ What lies before us and what lies behind us/ Are small matters compared to what lies within us/ And when we bring what is within/ Out in to the world/ Miracles happen.”

“Rory did just that,” said Mr Gallagher.

Hymns sung by the Vard sisters included I’ll Give You Praise, Lord; Here I Am Lord; How Great Thou Art. The chief mourners were Mr Brady’s wife Siobhán and daughters Aoife and Maeve. President Mary McAleese was represented by her aide-de-camp Capt Martin Larkin and secretary general to the President Adrian O’Neill.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen was present and the attendance also included former taoisigh Bertie Ahern and Albert Reynolds, Cabinet Ministers Dermot Ahern, Mary Hanafin, Mary Harney and her husband Brian Geoghegan, Minister of State Dick Roche, Senator Jim Walsh and former attorneys general David Byrne and Michael McDowell.

Also present were former ceann comhairle John O’Donoghue; former minister Michael O’Kennedy and former minister of state Liz O’Donnell.

More than 20 members of the judiciary were present, led by the Chief Justice Mr Justice John Murray. President of the High Court Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns attended, as did Supreme Court judges Mr Justice Liam McKechnie, Mr Justice Donal O’Donnell and Mr Justice Adrian Hardiman. Among the High Court judges present were Mr Justice Peter Charleton, Mr Justice Peter Kelly, Ms Justice Mary Irvine, Mr Justice Frank Clarke, Mr Justice Roderick Murphy, Mr Justice Bryan McMahon and Ms Justice Maureen Clark.

Former chief justice Mr Justice Ronan Keane attended, as did secretary general of the Department of the Taoiseach Dermot McCarthy, Fianna Fáil general secretary Seán Dorgan and artist Robert Ballagh.

The Irish Times was represented by the editor, Geraldine Kennedy.