FINAL TRIBUTES:TÁNAISTE BRIAN Cowen and Nobel laureate John Hume were among a crowd of about 500 people who attended the laying to rest of the late president, Dr Patrick Hillery, at St Fintan's Cemetery in Sutton, Co Dublin yesterday afternoon.
Draped in a Tricolour, the funeral casket was brought to the graveside by military pallbearers who were preceded by a lone piper. A band from the Army School of Music played Thomas Moore's traditional melody, The Last Rose of Summer, as the Tricolour was removed and presented to the Hillery family.
Leading the prayers, Fr Des Hillery, nephew of the late president, said: "Dr Patrick Hillery has served us well. He was a loving husband, a loving father." He added: "May we who mourn be reunited one day with Patrick."
In a reading from St Paul, Fr Hillery said: "Our true home is in heaven and Jesus Christ, whose return we long for, will come from heaven to save us."
He continued: "Almighty and ever-living God, remember the mercy with which you graced your servant Patrick in this life. Receive him, we pray, into the mansions of the saints. As we make ready our brother's resting place, look also with favour on those who mourn and comfort them in their loss."
There were special prayers for the chief mourners, Dr Maeve Hillery, widow of the late president; their son, Dr John Hillery, his wife Carolyn and their four children. Dr Hillery was buried beside his daughter Vivienne, who died in 1987 at the age of 17.
Speaking in Irish and English, Fianna Fáil leader designate Brian Cowen said it was a great honour for him to be asked by the family to deliver the graveside oration.
The late president had done many great things for the country but he was discreet both as a doctor and as a politician. "Self-publicity is eagerly pursued, but Patrick rejected that," Mr Cowen said, as Gaeilge.
On a personal level, he recalled how Dr Hillery shed tears of joy when his native Clare beat Offaly in the 1995 All-Ireland hurling final. When he was invited as president to visit Mr Cowen's home place in Clara, Co Offaly, he had no air of superiority about him and was at ease talking to the ordinary people of the town.
Commenting that, "if greatness is judged by the content of character, we stand at the graveside of a great man today", Mr Cowen described Dr Hillery as an "exceptional figure in Irish life".
"He was part of a generation of Irish politicians who sowed the seeds of our current prosperity. He was the last surviving member of Seán Lemass's first cabinet.
"Paddy Hillery would not crave statues or monuments to his legacy. Knowing that in some way he helped to shape our modern, confident and ambitious society was acclaim enough for a man who never lost touch," Mr Cowen said.
When the oration was over, a firing party drawn from the 2nd Infantry Battalion based in Cathal Brugha Barracks and under the command of Lieut Gary Ryan fired three volleys over the grave and the Last Post was sounded by buglers and drummers.
Chief Justice Mr Justice John Murray was among the attendance. The Defence Forces were represented by Lieut Gen Dermot Earley, Chief of Staff; Flag Officer of the Naval Service Cmdr Frank Lynch; and General Officer Commanding of the Air Corps, Brig-Gen Ralph James.
Other political figures in attendance included the President and Dr Martin McAleese, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern. former taoiseach Albert Reynolds, SDLP deputy leader Dr Alasdair McDonnell MP and Government Ministers and Ministers of State including Noel Dempsey, Conor Lenihan, Éamon Ó Cuív, Noel Ahern, Brendan Smith, Dick Roche, Seán Haughey and Batt O'Keeffe.
Other Oireachtas members present included Dr Martin Mansergh, John Cregan, Peter Power, Michael Kennedy, Seán Ardagh, Michael Finneran, and Senators Donie Cassidy, Mary White and Martin Brady.
