Sgt Derek Mooney was a "valued friend, treasured colleague" and "a light that sparked brightly, but too short in this world" mourners at his funeral Mass in Blackrock, Co Dublin, were told yesterday.
The head chaplain of the Defence Forces, Mgr John Crowley, said Sgt Mooney "loved soldiering" and from the age of three had wanted to join the Army.
"Derek was committed to everything he undertook. His friends knew him to be unflappable and a loyal friend with a good sense of humour, yet he was a man of few words. He loved soldiering - it was his life."
A congregation of several hundred people gathered at the Church of John the Baptist in Blackrock to mourn the death of Army Ranger Sgt Mooney who was killed in a road accident in Liberia last Thursday.
Mgr Crowley said his words could "hardly encapsulate the sorrow and grief" of Sgt Mooney's parents, Austin and Teresa Mooney and his fiancee, Ms Denise Kelleher, who had "plans hopes and dreams" that were now "only memories".
The mourners were led by Mr and Mrs Mooney, Ms Kelleher and Sgt Mooney's three bothers, Adrian, John and Philip and their families. The President, Mrs McAleese, attended the funeral with her husband Dr Martin McAleese, while the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, was represented by his aide-de-camp, Comdt Michael Murray.
Also present were the Minister for Defence, Mr Smith, the Dutch ambassador, Mr Jacobus Van Der Velden, the Army Chief-of-Staff, Lieut Gen Colm Mangan, the Garda Commissioner, Mr Noel Conroy and 150 ceremonial detail Army members.
Sgt Mooney's coffin was carried from the church by his colleagues from the elite Army Ranger wing and placed on a gun carriage to begin the four mile journey to Shanganagh Cemetery in south Dublin. Mrs McAleese offered her condolences to Sgt Mooney's family who joined the procession behind the gun carriage. The procession was led by members of the Army Rangers and the Army No 1. Band. 33-year-old Sgt Mooney joined the Defence Forces 16 years ago and had been a Ranger for the last eight years. Mgr Crowley told the congregation that when he was recruited Sgt Mooney's first question was when could he join the Rangers.
He had spent two years studying in UCD and was on patrol in Liberia for just one week when his jeep left the road. He died later during surgery.
