Funeral arrangements: The State funeral of former taoiseach Charles Haughey will begin at noon today in the Church of Our Lady of Consolation in Donnycarney on Dublin's northside.
Hundreds of politicians, members of the Council of State, MEPs, church leaders, judges, diplomats, local authority members, senior gardaí and representatives of national organisations are expected to attend. However, the majority of seating in the church will be reserved for friends of the Haughey family and members of the public from the Dublin North Central constituency that he represented for nearly 40 years.
Seating in the church will begin at 10.30am, while Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, accompanied by his aide-de-camp, will arrive at 11.45am, followed shortly by the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Cllr Catherine Byrne, and President Mary McAleese and her husband, Martin.
The requiem Mass, which will last until 1.30pm, will be celebrated by the Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Diarmuid Martin, and by Mr Haughey's brother, Fr Eoghan Haughey, OMI.
The Palestrina Choir from the Pro Cathedral, Dublin will sing the entrance song, Lord of all Hopefulness, by Jan Struther, while Seán Ó Riada's arrangement of the Kyrie will also be sung.
The first reading from the Prophet Jeremiah will be given by the Minister of State for Children, Brian Lenihan, while the second reading, from the Second Letter to Timothy, will be given by Eimear Mulhern, Mr Haughey's daughter. The homily will be given by Fr Eoghan Haughey, while the Prayers of the Faithful will be read by the Dingle-based former senator, Tom Fitzgerald, Siobhán O'Connor, PJ Mara, Ciaran Haughey, Brian Dennis, Mary Murphy and former Fianna Fáil Wexford TD, Séamus Cullimore.
The preparation of gifts for Communion will be accompanied by a traditional air arranged by David Mooney, Is Maith an Bhean, while Seán Ó Riada's Sanctus and Agnus Dei will then be played.
The Communion songs will be the Ave Verum from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and A Íosa Glan Mo Chroíse, before a reflection on the life of Mr Haughey will be given by his son Seán, the Dublin North Central TD.
A poem from Séamus Heaney, The Given Note, will be read by Áine Uí Laoithe, while uilleann piper Liam O'Flynn will play a traditional slow air, Port na bPúcaí.
Finbar Furey will play one of Mr Haughey's favourite pieces, The Lonesome Boatman, along with a reflection by poet and long-time friend of Mr Haughey, Brendan Kennelly.
After Mass, the coffin will be removed from the church by Military Police pallbearers from the 2nd Military Police Company at Cathal Brugha Barracks, followed by the President and her husband, the immediate Haughey family, the Lord Mayor, the Taoiseach and Tánaiste Mary Harney.
The funeral cortege will form outside the church. Soldiers drawn from the 2nd Eastern Brigade battalion will carry the Tricolour and the brigade's flag, escorted by 24 military cadets from the Curragh Military College.
The coffin will be carried at slow march by Military Police pallbearers to the Artane roundabout. The cortege will then drive to St Fintan's cemetery in Sutton, via Tonlegee Road. Once the cortege arrives at the cemetery, a military company will greet it drawn from the three arms of the Defence Forces: the Army, Naval Service and Air Corps.
Military Police pallbearers will carry the coffin to the graveside, where they will remove the Tricolour before the prayer service begins.
The Taoiseach will deliver a graveside oration. A Naval Service firing party will fire three volleys over the grave, while the Defence Forces' Band will play the Last Post and Reveille.
