Ireland

Former president and taoisigh attend funeral of Dermot Gallagher

Parish priest Fr Gerry Stuart says late civil servant’s life was rooted in family and friends

The late Dermot Gallagher, whose funeral took place on Wednesday. Photograph: David Sleator

Elaine Edwards
Wed Jan 18 2017 - 22:18

The central role played by Dermot Gallagher in the Northern Ireland peace process was underlined by the presence at his funeral of two former taoisigh, a former president, and senior political figures and civil servants.

Mr Gallagher, a former diplomat and secretary general of the Department of Foreign Affairs, was buried on Wednesday following funeral Mass at the Holy Trinity Church in Ratoath, Co Meath. He died on Sunday, aged 72.

Among those in attendance were Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan, Cardinal Seán Brady, former taoisigh Brian Cowen and John Bruton, former president Mary McAleese and her husband Martin McAleese, Sinn Féin's Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness, former SDLP deputy leader Seamus Mallon and former Fianna Fáil politician Dr Martin Mansergh.

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Former deputy first minister Seamus Mallon at the funeral of Dermot Gallagher. Photograph: Brenda Fitzsimons

President Michael D Higgins was represented by his aide-de-camp, Capt Eoin Rochford, and Taoiseach Enda Kenny by his aide-de-camp, Comdt Kieran Carey.

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In his homily, parish priest Fr Gerry Stuart said Mr Gallagher was a “conscientious, consummate diplomat”.

“Dermot had a warm and engaging personality, and his natural affinity with people insulated him from any delusions of grandeur, and people instinctively warmed to his company,” he said. “His was a noble sense of service and duty, always committed to the ideals of public life, a conscientious consummate diplomat, intellectually gifted, who oozed tolerance, decency and gentleness, who could give wise and measured counsel. He mixed his quiet leadership with wisdom and common sense.”

Fr Stuart added: “He could boil down complex issues to their essentials, and communicate them with absolute clarity. He had the capacity of seeing the big picture while focusing on the smallest details. I’m sure there are many here today who worked with him, particularly on the Good Friday agreement, who could attest to that.”

He had touched the lives of so many in many walks of life, but most of all his was a life that was rooted in family and good friends.

Mr Gallagher had "never lost his sense of identity" and was "an Irish nationalist in the true sense of that word". Above all, Mr Gallagher was a "proud Leitrim man" to his core.

Leitrim jersey

Symbols of his life brought to the altar by friends and family included a Leitrim jersey, a picture of the Ballinamore-Ballyconnell Canal and a painting of his “beloved office” in Iveagh House by his friend Tom Ryan.

One of his great achievements was Mr Gallagher’s initiative to take the Battle of the Boyne site into public ownership, Fr Stuart said. A treasured message of appreciation for that initiative from the late Dr Ian Paisley was also among the symbols offered. Mr Gallagher’s tennis partner Patricia Draper brought forward his tennis racket.

Former US president Bill Clinton said in a letter read to the congregation that he and his wife, Hillary, had been saddened by Mr Gallagher’s passing.

“He was a fine man, an extraordinary diplomat, and a gifted public servant who dedicated his life to advancing peace and prosperity for the Irish people,” Mr Clinton wrote.

Also in attendance were former minister for justice Dermot Ahern, former senator Maurice Hayes, former government press secretary Frank Dunlop and two former Garda commissioners, Pat Byrne and Fachtna Murphy.

Former senior civil servants Noel Dorr and Sean Donlon, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin, former TD Mary Wallace and former minister Liz O’Donnell also attended, as did former ministers David Andrews and Gerry Collins, and Dr Joe Mulholland. British ambassador to Ireland Robin Barnett was also present.

Also at the funeral were Tim O'Connor, former consul general of Ireland in New York, and journalist Conor O'Clery. Colin McCusker of the Ulster Unionist Party, a son of the late Harold McCusker, and journalist Deaglán de Bréadún were among those who read prayers of the faithful.

Mr Gallagher's friend Rory Montgomery read the reflection, an extract from John McGahern's Love of the World.

Mr Gallagher is survived by his widow, Maeve, daughters Fiona and Aoife and son, Ronan.

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