Senator apologises over funeral remarks

Senator Liam Fitzgerald has apologised to the Haughey family for doubts he expressed in relation to attending former taoiseach Charles Haughey's funeral and has said that he will attend today's service.

Mr Fitzgerald, who was one of the so-called "gang of four" who opposed Mr Haughey in a leadership battle, was speaking on RTÉ Radio yesterday in response to comments he made to The Irish Times in yesterday's paper.

He had said that he was perplexed as to whether it would be appropriate for him to attend the funeral and would seek counsel on the matter.

But on radio yesterday he said that he would attend the funeral and apologised to anybody he offended by his comments including "any member of the Haughey family, or any friend or supporter throughout the country or anywhere else".

"I shouldn't have shared in public what was a deeply, deeply personal, private issue," he said.

Mr Fitzgerald said that his concerns had stemmed from a history of issues that were political and personal and he did not want to be seen as dancing on another man's grave.

He also feared that he might be considered a hypocrite if he attended the funeral, given his history with Mr Haughey.

"I don't want to be hypocritical. I want to sympathise with the passing of a rarity indeed, and that is what I refer to him as," he said.

Mr Fitzgerald said that he was full of paradoxical and extremely opposite responses to Mr Haughey during his life.

"I never ran away from him in life and how can I run away from him in death now?" he asked.