Mourners told of the loving mother behind Terry Keane's public face

FORMER FASHION editor and social columnist Terry Keane had a colourful and controversial persona but the real person within remained elusive to the public, mourners at her funeral were told.

Fr Noel Barber SJ said Ms Keane's loyalty to her children and her grandchildren was absolute. "Their joys were her joys, their sorrows her sorrows, their success, her success, their failures, her failures. She followed them avidly and supported them fully."

Ms Keane also enjoyed the devotion of friends who admired her wit, "albeit acerbic at times", and her warmth and generosity.

Hundreds of family, friends and former colleagues attended the funeral yesterday of Ms Keane, who died on Saturday after a long battle with cancer. The mourners at St Joseph's Church in Glasthule, Dublin were led by her daughters Jane, Madeleine and Justine and her husband, former chief justice Ronan Keane.

In 1999, Ms Keane revealed that she had had a 27-year affair with former taoiseach Charles Haughey; she later said she regretted disclosing it.

Fr Barber said everyone makes errors but for most people they remain private. "It is when such errors and wrong calls are in the public sphere that great damage can be done to one and all. So with Terry, a serious error of judgment turned a social columnist into a pariah. In living with that, she had the admirable and steadfast support of family and friends."

Fr Barber said the great sorrows of her life were the tragic death of her son Timothy four years ago, and the "no less tragic death" of her infant granddaughter Francesca.

Among the attendance were former journalistic colleagues Sunday Independent editor Aengus Fanning and Trevor Danker. Those from the fashion world included designer Ian Galvin, Bronwyn Conroy and outfitter Tom Kennedy. Others present were Fr Tom Stack, builder Joe McGowan and his wife Anne-Marie, solicitor Jim Cawley, businessman Greg McCambridge, historian Ronan Fanning and Frank Flannery.

Delivering a tribute on behalf of her family, son-in-law Diarmuid Gavin described her as an extraordinary lady with many passions, among them life, her family, the arts, shopping and France.

After the service, Ms Keane's body was taken to Mount Jerome for cremation.