FORMER CLARE Fine Gael senator Michael Howard (75) was utterly courageous and never flinched as he approached his death, his son Michael told mourners at his funeral yesterday.
He served for 20 years in the Seanad until 1997 and on Clare County Council from 1974 to 1991.
In a eulogy at his funeral Mass in Ennis, his son said: “It is a great thing to have known him. To us, he was a great man.”
Michael said his father and the Howard family were told the news on December 23rd last that Michael snr had only a short time to live.
He said: “When we were all devastated, dad was serene, resigned. The counselling nurse came to meet dad to help him with the news that he had received. It was a very short visit.
“Dad told the nurse that he had no fear of death. It was an exam he prepared for all his life.”
The Taoiseach’s aide de camp, Comdt Michael Treacy, and the Cathaoirleach of the Seanad, Senator Pat Moylan (FF), heard Fr Tom Hogan tell mourners of the high regard in which he was held.
He said: “The preparation and thought that he put into the gathering of today was that of a man who didn’t live life on the surface. He reflected on life and had a great sense of the sacred; of the connection, of the past and what’s beyond the ‘trasna’ – the next.”
Fr Hogan said Mr Howard – who served as president of the Vintners Federation of Ireland (VFI) – was a Burren man and never lost touch with his roots.
Later in a graveside eulogy, Fine Gael TD Pat Breen said: “Today, we have all lost a great friend and we have to say goodbye. But Michael, we in Fine Gael and all your friends across the political divide will never forget you and the influence you had on all our lives.”
Mr Howard is survived by sons Tom, Michael, Séamus, Gearóid and daughters Elizabeth, Louise, Mary, and Bríd and predeceased by his wife, Breda.