John Wilson, public and private man, were one and the same, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said at the removal of the remains of the former tánaiste yesterday.
"John Wilson was a gentleman and scholar," he added. Mr Wilson died on Monday, aged 84.
His body was removed from his Dublin home in Churchtown to the nearby Church of the Good Shepherd, where they were received by parish priest Fr John Killeen.
As well as praising his ministerial career, Mr Ahern referred to Mr Wilson's distinguished sporting and academic prowess. "John Wilson earned renown as a young man on the sports field, but fame never spoiled him. He earned distinction as a scholar, but learning never weighed upon him. He attained high office in politics, but power did not change him."
Mr Wilson, he said, loved learning and teaching. "A classics scholar, he was intimately aware of and attuned to the very foundations of our civilisation. He knew the names of the gods on Mount Olympus and he understood the common bond that binds all of humanity together from modern Shercock to ancient Sparta."
Fr Killeen, who spoke to Mr Wilson on Sunday hours before his death, said he was a caring man. "He cared about people and he answered the call to serve people, his country and his community through political activity."
The chief mourners were Mr Wilson's wife Ita; son John; daughters Siobhán, Clare Lucy and Maria; brothers Eugene and Aidan; sisters May and Agnes; and other relatives including his nephew, Senator Diarmuid Wilson.
President Mary McAleese was represented by her ADC, Comdt Lester Costello.
The attendance included Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Brian Cowen; Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan; Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin; Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern; Minister for Education Mary Hanafin; Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs Éamon Ó Cuív; Cathaoirleach of the Seanad Rory Kiely, and Labour Party leader Pat Rabbitte.
Ministers of State present included Brendan Smith, Seán Haughey, Dick Roche, Michael Ahern, Conor Lenihan, Jimmy Devins and SeáPower.
Also present were former ministers Gerard Collins, Dr Rory O'Hanlon and David Andrews; TDs Eamon Scanlon, Martin Mansergh, Charlie O'Connor, Timmy Dooley, Joe Costello, Seymour Crawford; senators Francis O'Brien, Paschal Mooney, Anne Ormonde, Mary White, Terry Leyden; Fianna Fáil general secretary Seán Dorgan; former Supreme Court judge Mr Justice Hugh O'Flaherty; and former Irish Times Gaelic games correspondent Paddy Downey. The Catholic primate and Archbishop of Armagh, Dr Seán Brady, a native of Co Cavan, and Auxiliary Bishop of Dublin Dr Eamonn Walsh, were also present.
Mr Wilson will be buried in Cavan today after Requiem Mass in Dublin.