Greig Oliver was the “most adoring, generous dad and husband,” for whom “family was everything”, his funeral Mass on Friday heard.
Mr Oliver (58) died earlier this month after a paragliding accident in Cape Town, South Africa, where he had travelled to watch his son Jack play rugby for Ireland at the U20 World Championships.
“He got to see Jack get his first cap and that’s all we can ask for,” his daughter Ciara told mourners at Our Lady Help of Christians Church in Castletroy, Limerick.
Mr Oliver was a former Scotland international having earned three caps, the congregation heard. He was also an elite performance officer with Munster Rugby.
He left an “indelible mark” on the rugby community, heard mourners, many of whom wore Munster Rugby clothing.
Among the gifts placed on the coffin to celebrate Mr Oliver’s life were his first Scottish rugby jersey, his first international cap and his coaching whistle.
“We shared memories with dad that we’ll have forever,” said Ciara Oliver. “We can’t thank all in Munster Rugby enough for making him the person he was. I always blamed him for my several yellow cards for rugby tackles on the [GAA] pitch.”
Mr Oliver’s wife, Fiona, said that her husband’s sense of humour was “second to none” and that she was often “in tears” due to his jokes.
While he was proud of his rugby achievements, he would never tell anyone of his successes, she said, adding that she was “in awe of his modesty”.
“He had a knack of making you feel at ease if you were talking to him,” she said. “No one was ever above him or below him. I feel blessed to have been by his side. [He would] want us all to keep looking forward and remember him with a smile.”
Fr John O’Brien told mourners that Friday was “a day of grief yet celebration,” adding, in reference to Mr Oliver’s young age, that “unfinished symphonies are the sweetest”.
Fr Robert Swinburne added that the numbers gathered at the church made it “one of the biggest funerals in this parish that I can remember”.
Following the Mass, Mr Oliver’s coffin, which was draped in Scotland and Munster rugby flags and a sign that was a nod to his hometown of Hawick, Scotland, was taken to Shannon Crematorium.
