Jim Kemmy's funeral ended with the recorded voice of John Hanson singing Beautiful Dreamer to the subdued and sombre mourners in Mount St Lawrence Cemetery in Limerick city.
Mr Kemmy had requested it last week, as he had requested the reading by actor Mike Finn of Dylan Thomas's Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night and the oration by academic and historian Prof Gearoid O Tuathaigh.
Men and women wept during a ceremony deliberately devoid of the pomposity which Mr Kemmy detested.
There had been no valedictory procession along the main thoroughfares of Limerick.
Instead, the cortege took the shortest route from Griffin's Funeral Parlour to the cemetery.
At the city fire station, the engines lined up to flash their red lights in honour of Mr Kemmy as the hearse passed by.
The hearse stopped once - outside the Pike Inn - meeting place for Kemmy supporters and canvassers for many years.
Along the route, people stopped working and came out to see the last journey of one of their city's most famous citizens.
Chief mourners were his partner, Ms Patsy Harrold, his brother and right-hand man in Limerick, Joe, his sisters Mrs Maureen McAteer and Mrs Joan Hartnett, his halfbrother, Mr P.J. Pilkington, and family member, Ms Mary Troy.
The secular graveside ceremony was opened by the Mayor, Mr Frank Leddin, who recalled Jim Kemmy's championing of poor and unemployed people and his work as a local historian.
Labour leader Mr Dick Spring summed up Mr Kemmy's style when he said: "What you saw was what you got with Jim Kemmy. There were no airs and graces and he never forgot his roots in the city of Limerick. Jim's relationship with our party had its ups and downs," he said.
"Jim would say it was a turbulent relationship on both sides."
He recalled Mr Kemmy's "detestation of extreme nationalism" and the 1990 merger of his Democratic Socialist Party, whose founder-chairman, Mr Seamus Rhatigan, was among the mourners, with the Labour Party in 1990.
"He knew every path and pavement, every lane and court, every row, bow and alleyway of this city," said Prof O Tuathaigh in his oration.
"His presence will be felt for a very long time by very many people in this city."
About 6,000 people attended the funeral, including the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, who was a frequent visitor to Jim Kemmy during his final illness.
Also present was the general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, Mr Peter Cassells.
Politicians present included Mrs Nora Owen, representing Fine Gael, Mr Des O'Malley, Progressive Democrats, Mr Proinsias De Rossa, leader of Democratic Left, and several members of the cabinet.
Churchmen present included the Bishop of Limerick and Killaloe, the Right Rev Edward Darling, Father Donal McNamara, representing the Bishop of Limerick, Dr Donal Murray, and Father Dominic Johnson OSB, representing the Glenstal community.
Mr Spring seemed to capture the mood of those present when he ended his address with the words: "Jim Kemmy, Limerickman, stonemason, trade unionist, socialist, writer and friend, may you rest in peace."
Arthur Quinlan writes: Before the funeral, tributes were paid to Mr Kemmy by the two bishops of Limerick.
Dr Murray said he had learned with great sadness of his death. "He was a man with a big heart and his untimely death is a great loss to Limerick.
"His love for the people of Limerick was evident to everyone who knew him and his knowledge of its history was unmatched.
"I am personally grateful for his encouragement and his friendship to me since my arrival in the diocese," the bishop said.
Bishop Darling said that Mr Kemmy was "very much part of the people's lives".
There were few, he added, who did not have the greatest respect for him. They saw him first and foremost as a man who cared for the welfare of people, especially those who were underprivileged.
He added that people saw him "as one who had noble principles and never wavered from them. He was a man who set high standards and lived by them." The bishop also recalled how he first got to know the late deputy.
"Several years ago we walked together from Cork to Limerick for church and state, as he described it, to raise money for a number of different charities. It was at that time that I so clearly recognised the humanity and the goodness of the man."
The president of the Chamber of Commerce, Mr Tadhg Kearney, said Mr Kemmy's death had robbed Limerick of an outstanding public figure who had come to symbolise the city.
"Everything in which he involved himself was done with a passion based on conviction and commitment."