REMOVAL SERVICE:DR GARRET FitzGerald was an extraordinary Irishman who had enriched Irish life and the lives of countless people, the formal service to receive his remains was told on Saturday evening.
Dr FitzGerald’s remains were removed from the Mansion House to the Sacred Heart Church in Donnybrook ahead of his State funeral yesterday.
President Mary McAleese and Taoiseach Enda Kenny attended the short service and expressed condolences to Dr FitzGerald’s family immediately afterwards.
Many hundreds were present for the service, conducted by parish priest Fr Martin Clarke. Members of the public continued to file past the coffin in the church until 10.30pm.
In his homily, Fr Clarke said Dr FitzGerald’s death was an occasion of great sorrow but observed that its significance in the week that Queen Elizabeth had made her first State visit to Ireland was noted by many commentators.
Senior members of the judiciary, Defence Forces, An Garda Síochána, the Government and Opposition were in attendance, as were former president Mary Robinson and former taoisigh Liam Cosgrave and John Bruton.
The coffin carrying Dr FitzGerald’s remains was draped in the Tricolour and carried into the church by a military guard of honour.
The chief mourners were his three children: Mary, John and Mark; his 10 grandchildren; his great grandson; his daughters-in-law Eithne and Derval; and son-in-law Vincent.
In the course of the service, Fr Clarke said the congregation had gathered “to pay tribute to an extraordinary Irishman: someone who enriched so many lives; some one who has enriched the life of this country”.
Fr Clarke described a week of great contrast in public life in Ireland. “This past week has been an extraordinary week for our country: a week in which we have experienced great joy and celebration on the occasion of Queen Elizabeth II’s visit to Ireland. It’s been a week of sorrow because of the loss of Garret FitzGerald.
“The Queen’s visit really was a resounding success . . . It marked a watershed in Anglo-Irish relations. One of the great high points was in Dublin Castle and those wonderful speeches of our President Mary McAleese and the wonderful speech of Queen Elizabeth.
“Within hours of that landmark occasion in Dublin Castle, Garret FitzGerald was called by God to himself.”
He continued: “As many commentators have observed there was a certain significance in that because of Garret’s commitment to peacemaking and all he achieved in political office particularly around the Anglo-Irish agreement that made the Good Friday agreement possible and laid the foundations for the wonderful peace we how enjoy on this island.”
He said Dr FitzGerald’s family had been keeping a vigil at his bedside in hospital in recent weeks, showing love and compassion. “Your loss is very public, but your grief is intensely private,” he said.
Fr Clarke also remembered Dr Fitzgerald’s wife Joan, who predeceased him, as a woman to whom he was devoted.
He concluded by describing the former taoiseach, Fine Gael leader, economist, statesman and Irish Timescolumnist as "somebody who has touched and enriched our lives in so many ways and enriched the life of our country".
At the conclusion of the service, Mrs McAleese and Mr Kenny offered their condolences to the FitzGerald family. Hundreds of mourners who had packed the church to capacity then queued to express sympathy with the family.