Cruise O'Brien said what 'needed to be said in season and out of season'

CONOR CRUISE O'Brien was like one of the "Old Testament prophets, finding the courage to say things that he felt needed to be said either in season or out of season", mourners at his removal in Howth, Co Dublin, were told.

"With Conor, they were more often out of season," according to his cousin, Fr Richard Sheehy, at the ceremony in the Church of the Assumption.

Some 200 people including family, friends and former colleagues attended the ceremony on Saturday evening, where his wife Máire Mac An tSaoi, was supported by their daughter Margaret, son Patrick and Dr O'Brien's daughter Fedelma Simms from his first marriage to Christine Foster.

Parish priest Msgr Brendan Houlihan said Dr O'Brien could probably best be described in the words of President Mary McAleese when she acknowledged "the immense breadth and longevity" of his career "as a public servant, politician, writer and academic which was widely recognised".

He added that "Howth was very special to Conor. He loved this place and found so much happiness over the years in his house on the summit".

In a reflection on the life of the 91-year-old former minister, diplomat, scholar, writer and journalist, Fr Sheehy said he had lived what his son Patrick described as "five lives.

He lived a packed life and left a legacy of great work, on subjects as diverse as Irish history, Edmund Burke and the state of Israel.

"It was Burke who famously said that in order for evil to survive, it is sufficient that good people do nothing. Conor was never going to be one of those who did nothing."

There was some laughter when his cousin spoke of his time as editor-in-chief of the Observernewspaper.

He "went to interview the despotic leader of an African country. When he walked into the room, the leader made a caustic remark to Conor, to which Conor replied, 'Well, at least I'm not oppressing my people.' He added that 'the interview went downhill after that'."

Fr Sheehy said "family was always very important to Conor. He was a warm, generous and engaging host and he had a great sense of fun."

It was "through his wife Máires unstinting generosity and care that he was able to be nursed at home", and that of his daughter Margaret who had been home for the past year or so.

"Amazingly Máire still found time to pursue her own scholarship and Conor would have been very proud to see her launch her most recent book earlier this week," said Fr Sheehy.

Family members at the removal also included Dr Cruise O'Brien's son-in-law Nicholas Simms; grandsons Mark and Laurence Simms and Alexander Kearney; Ms Mac an tSaoi's nephews Maurice, Frank and Bernard Biggar and niece Lucy Kelly.

Former taoiseach Liam Cosgrave, under whom Dr Cruise O'Brien served as minister, said afterwards that he was "very effective" and "he was a very dedicated supporter of mine. He never wavered. Rock solid."

Former taoiseach Garret FitzGerald said "he was so witty, so funny and such an exciting person to be with".

Those at the service also included Labour leader Eamon Gilmore and deputy leader Joan Burton. The three current TDs in Dr Cruise O'Brien's former Dublin North East constituency were also there, Dr Michael Woods of Fianna Fáil, who won the seat from him in 1977, Labour TD Tommy Broughan and Fine Gael deputy Terence Flanagan.

Fine Gael Senator Eugene Regan and Independent Senator Shane Ross attended, as did Dermot Gallagher, secretary general of the Department of Foreign Affairs; Bobby McDonagh, Ireland's permanent representative to the EU; former secretary general of the department of foreign affairs Noel Dorr; former minister Barry Desmond; Press Ombudsman and former Labour TD John Horgan; chairman of The Irish TimesTrust Dr David McConnell and the paper's foreign editor Paul Gillespie.

Also in attendance were poets Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill and Micheál O'Siadhail, Dr Cruise O'Brien's election agent Jack Brennan and Kitty Quinn, his personal assistant.

Dr Cruise O'Brien's funeral Mass takes place today before burial in Glasnevin cemetery, where his daughter Kate is buried.