Family and teammates pay respects

FORMER INTERNATIONAL rugby players and prominent members of the media were among the congregation of hundreds who gathered in Co Kildare last night to pay their respects to former Irish rugby Grand Slam-winning captain Karl Mullen.

Parish priest of the Church of the Sacred Heart and St Brigid, Kilcullen, Fr Michael Murphy paid tribute to the sporting and medical achievements of Dr Mullen, who died on Sunday night aged 82.

He won the first of his 25 Ireland caps as a hooker in 1947 against France and led Ireland to their first Grand Slam victory in 1948 when he was only 21-years-old.

Dr Mullen was the third Irish player to captain the Lions and led them when they toured New Zealand and Australia in 1950. He played in three Tests against the All Blacks on a tour where the Lions wore red jerseys for the first time. They lost three matches and drew one in the Test series.

His passing comes barely a month after Ireland bridged a 61-year gap when completing a Grand Slam with a memorable win in Cardiff.

Ireland rugby team coach Declan Kidney, who led the current team to Grand Slam victory, also attended last night’s removal.

Sir Anthony O’Reilly was at the church last night to pay his respects. The former chief executive of Independent News and Media was capped many times for the Ireland team during the 1950s and 1960s and played with the British and Irish Lions.

Another Ireland player of that era in attendance was Michael Dargan, who played on the Irish rugby team with Dr Mullen in 1952.

Tommy Doyle, who played for Ireland in 1962, was also there.

RTÉ broadcaster Marian Finucane and horse trainer Jim Bolger were among the other well-known figures at last night’s service.

Dr Mullen’s love of golf was also remembered as members of Rathsallagh Golf Club formed a guard of honour for his hearse. He was one of the founding members of the club and his wife was a former captain.

Fr Murphy also paid tribute to Dr Mullen’s distinguished medical career, estimating that, when retired as an obstetrician and gynaecologist from Mount Carmel hospital in Dublin in 2002, he had delivered over 40,000 babies.

Above all this, Dr Mullen was a family man who was devoted to his wife and eight children, Fr Murphy said. His wife Doreen passed away exactly a year ago yesterday. He is survived by his eight children, Louise, Niamh, Mary, Gaye, Anna, Karl, Paul and Marc as well as his 18 grandchildren.

His funeral Mass will take place at 11am today followed by burial at St Brigid’s Cemetery, Kilcullen.