THE funeral of Diarmuid O'Neill, the IRA suspect shot dead by British police last Monday week, took place yesterday in Timoleague in West Cork, as a huge Garda security cordon ringed all the approach roads.
Detectives said more than 30 known IRA sympathisers were at the funeral Mass and graveside. Among the attendance was Father Patrick Ryan, the Pallottine priest arrested in Belgium in 1989, and from whom electrical equipment was confiscated. The British government attempted unsuccessfully to extradite him.
All cars approaching Timoleague were checked by uniformed gardai and many Special Branch detectives were on duty.
At the church, and in St Mologga's cemetery, an area was made available to the large press corps. The family had asked the media to allow the funeral to take place in a dignified, proper manner.
At 2.30 the hearse arrived at the Church of the Nativity in Timoleague, followed by a car with his parents, Mr Eoghan and Mrs Terry O'Neill. Ms Siobhan O'Neill (23), a sister, and the dead man's brother, Shane (22), were also present.
Diarmuid's girlfriend, Ms Karmele Ereno, from the Basque region in Spain, was with the family during the ceremony. After his death, she placed an advertisement in a Basque newspaper which read: "Ginger, killed by English police. London September 23rd we'll never forget you." Yesterday, one of the wreaths on the coffin bore the message from Ms Ereno: "I'll always love you."
Another wreath ringed in the Tricolour was from Siobhan and Shane O'Neill with the inscription: "To the one and only with lots of love". Three men, walking side by side, placed more wreaths in the hearse just after the Mass started. They said they were Sinn Fein members who were attending the funeral in a private capacity, in deference to the wishes of the family.
Father James Coombes, parish priest of Timoleague, said in his homily that the funeral was a difficult occasion both for the O'Neill family and the people of Timoleague. There was a great deal of mystery surrounding Diarmuid's death but the outpouring of sympathy from the local people would help the family to get through its ordeal, he added.
Only God could pass judgment on Diarmuid O'Neill, Father Coombes said, and continued: "I am proud of the people of Timoleague for the manner in which they have rallied around the family. They have created a raft which will help them negotiate the troubled waters in which they find themselves." The "Our Father" from the O Riada Mass was sung in the church.
At the graveside, Ms Ereno and Mr O'Neill's brother, sister and mother placed red roses and a sunflower on the coffin. As the 300 mourners left the cemetery, gardai again checked car number plates.