Former Defence Forces chief of staff Dermot Earley was a mighty Irish legend who was loved and revered around the country, his funeral Mass heard today.
Political, religious and sporting leaders packed into the Church of St Conleth, in Newbridge, Co Kildare, to pay their final respects to the soldier and sportsman who died on Wednesday at the age of 62.
Loudspeakers were erected outside to bring the service to more than 1,000 mourners who thronged into the church grounds and lined the adjoining streets for the moving military send-off.
Leading the ceremony, Monsignor Eoin Thynne, head chaplain of the Defence Forces, said tears of sorrow had been cried for the loss of a great leader, an outstanding sportsman and a true gentleman.
“Dermot Earley was a good man, in fact he was a great man, but to the people of Roscommon he was a mighty man,” he said. “Mighty to his family, his friends, the Defence Forces, the Gaelic Athletic Association, mighty to everyone.”
Tributes were paid to Lt Gen Earley’s distinguished military career, leading UN missions in the Middle East and New York, as well as success on the GAA pitch for his native Roscommon. He was also remembered as a committed family man.
Lt Gen Sean McCann, the current Defence Forces chief of staff, described his predecessor as an indomitable force that galvanised Irish troops into believing anything was possible.
Along with countless others, Lt Gen McCann recalled his former colleague’s warm “vice-like handshake” and engaging eye-contact that endeared him to friends and strangers alike.
The outstanding Gaelic footballer of his generation - having won almost every accolade in the game - he was also an accomplished rugby player, the Mass heard.
Lt Gen McCann revealed that Lt Gen Earley often lined out for Army rugby teams under the pseudonym Lieutenant Late in the days when GAA players were barred from playing “foreign games”.
“It is difficult to speak calmly or dispassionately on the loss of Dermot Earley,” he said. “He was our appointed leader and our chosen leader.”
Describing him as one of the most recognised leaders since the foundation of the State, Monsignor Thynne said the Army chief would not be without a football even when on overseas missions. “In Lebanon or the Golan Heights he would practise regularly by kicking a ball into the air and fielding it,” he said. “There were Arabs and Christians who didn’t know what to make of him.”
As his coffin was carried from the church, draped in the Irish tricolour with his cap and a ceremonial sword placed atop, sunshine briefly gave way to rain as mourners burst into spontaneous applause.
The chief mourners were Lt Gen Earley’s mother Kitty, wife Mary, sons David, Dermot and Conor and daughters Paula, Ann-Marie and Noelle.
Taoiseach Brian Cowen, several Cabinet ministers, Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny, Bishop William Lee of Waterford, retired Bishop of Kildare Jim Moriarty and GAA president Christy Cooney were among those behind the guard of honour.
President Mary McAleese was represented by her aide de camp Col Mick McMahon.
Former Roscommon GAA players as well as representatives from his adopted Sarsfields club in Kildare also attended.
The coffin was carried on a traditional military gun carriage, led by Army No 1 band, on a slow march through the town to the Newbridge cemetery, to the sound of the traditional bugle calls The Last Post and Reveille.
Gen Earley died aged 62 on Wednesday after a long battle with illness - 10 days after he stepped aside as the country’s most senior army officer.
Minister for Defence Tony Killeen said when a big military job needed doing it was Lt Gen Earley that people turned to. “You couldn’t have got a better man,” he said.
Mr Kenny said he was “an icon, a legendary man, who did his country proud”.
The Earley family declined an offer by the GAA to postpone the Kildare v Antrim clash as a mark of respect, and son Dermot jnr will line out for his county for the All Ireland qualifier.
Lt Gen Earley was educated at St Nathy’s College, Ballaghaderreen, Co Roscommon, and joined the Army in 1965. He was one of the first officers to join the Army Ranger Wing, when it was in its infancy.
He served with the UN in the Middle East from 1975-1977 and was adjutant of the 52nd Infantry Battalion with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon in 1982 and 1983. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1995 and commanded the 27th Infantry Battalion on the Border. In 2001, he became a colonel and in December 2003 a brigadier general. In February 2004, he was promoted to major general.
He played Gaelic football for Roscommon for 20 years from 1965 to 1985. He was regarded as one of the greatest players never to win an All-Ireland medal. He later managed the Roscommon and Kildare senior football teams.
PA