Ronan Mac Lochlainn, the dissident IRA man shot dead by gardai during an attempted robbery near Ashford, Co Wicklow, last week, was buried in the republican plot at Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin yesterday. His pregnant partner, Ms Grainne Gibson, comforted their three young sons at the graveyard.
The dissident IRA group which broke away from the mainstream IRA six months ago and shares the same political views as the 32 County Sovereignty Committee, claimed Mr Mac Lochlainn (28), as a member.
Several Sinn Fein members from Dublin were among mourners, but senior party figures were absent. Leading members of Republican Sinn Fein and the Irish Republican Socialist Party attended the funeral, as did dissident IRA figures from Dublin and Co Louth.
The priest who conducted the Requiem Mass in the Church of the Holy Spirit in Ballymun told mourners that he had worked in Chile after the end of the 17-year dictatorship and people seen as oppressors by some were regarded as "saviours" by others.
But Father Liam O Cuiv appealed to all sides in the Northern conflict to recognise each others' humanity, even though they had strongly different beliefs.
"In a land where politics often divides, let this common respect for each other unite us," he said. Jesus had told his followers to love their enemies, he added.
There was a heavy garda presence at the funeral and a security helicopter hovered overhead. The coffin was draped in the Tricolour and Mr Mac Loch lainn's combat belt, beret and black gloves lay on top. Six men in black ties, trousers and berets formed a guard of honour. Leading members of the 32 County Sovereignty Committee, including Ms Bernadette Sands McKevitt, were present. At Glasnevin Cemetery, a bugler sounded the Last Post. Speaking at the graveside, Mr Val Lynch of the 32 County Sovereignty Committee said Mr Mac Lochlainn, like the men of 1916, was an "unremitting, uncompromising, unrelenting son of Ireland" who could not be "bought, cajoled or coerced".
Delivering the main oration, Mr Francie Mackey - a Sinn Fein councillor in Omagh, Co Tyrone, who was expelled from the party for criticising the leadership and joining the committee - extended his sympathy to the Mac Lochlainns "on behalf of the republican movement".
In an apparent reference to republicans who support the Belfast Agreement, Mr Mackey said: "Ronan Mac Lochlainn remained loyal and true to the IRA constitution when others have used and usurped it. Ronan was proud to stand by it, take the risks and give everything to the cause he cherished." Mr Mackey said many republicans would "make the right decision" and "develop the struggle against British rule in Ireland". No amount of "spin-doctoring or fudging" by anyone could legitimise the British presence. Republicans had a duty to do "whatever is necessary" to prevent the dilution of Irish national sovereignty, he said.