Fair City actress ‘the life and soul of the party,’ funeral hears

The funeral of Fair City actress Jean Costello, who played Rita Doyle in the series, has heard she was "the life and soul of the party" and "would always light up the room".

Ms Costello (76) died unexpectedly in the Mater Hospital on St Stephen's Day, accompanied by her family, according to her death notice.

On Tuesday, mourners waited outside St Agatha’s Church on North William Street in Dublin for the mother-of-five’s remains to arrive in a simple wicker casket, atop the shoulders of family members and friends.

Fr Brendan Kealy, who presided over the ceremony, said the Mass was not just to mourn the loss of Ms Costello, but also to celebrate her life.

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He described how loveable she was, and how “people were drawn to her”.

“Jean entered into the world of acting completely by accident. Anne, her daughter, was going for an interview and asked her mum Jean if she would come down and support her. She said ‘of course I’ll do that’. But, of course, Jean ended up getting the job,” Fr Kealy said.

“She was the life and soul of the party. She was very outgoing and always would light up the room when she entered into it. She had a gift of making people feel very, very special,” he added.

Ms Costello leaves behind her partner Seamus and her four sons Noel, Joseph, Myles and Christy.

She was also the mother to Anne, who died in 2002.

A eulogy on behalf of her son Christy was read out to the congregation, describing Ms Costello as “the best character of life”.

“You were not only my mother, you were also my best friend,” he said. “I’m lucky to have shared so many memories with you.

“One day I will always remember was when we dressed the dog as a baby in the pram and wheeled it through the doors of the local pub. We had a great laugh pushing it through the doors and the locals were in shock when they realised it was a dog and not a baby,” the eulogy added.

Her partner Seamus added: " This is the strangest day of my life and I'll miss Jean forever."

A Japanese mask, a copy of the bible and a doll belonging to Ms Costello’s daughter were placed on her coffin.

“We could fill the entire church with memorabilia to celebrate Jean’s life,” Fr Kealy said once the items had been brought to the alter.

Rita Doyle was one of the soap's earliest characters when the Dublin-based series began in 1989. The character was married to Bela Doyle played by Jim Bartley. Ms Costello retired from the role in 2013 due to ill health.

In a statement, the programme's executive producer Brigie de Courcy described Costello as a "stalwart" of the show.

“Everyone in Fair City is deeply saddened to hear about the sad passing of our former colleague Jean Costello,” Ms de Courcy said.

“She entertained the homes of millions of Irish people for over 20 years as she was one of Carrigstown’s most loved characters. We send our deepest condolences to her family and wide circle of friends and colleagues.”