Immanuel Jakobovits stands out as being perhaps the most notable and influential rabbi of his generation - anywhere in the world. His sudden death on October 31st at the age of 78, cast a pall not just on his own community in Britain, but on the wider world, too. There are still numerous Irish priests, politicians and other public figures who remember affectionately the contributions he made between 1949 and 1958, the years he served as Chief Rabbi in Dublin.
Of course, he went on to other, and in the scheme of things, bigger and more important roles - notably as the first ever Chief Rabbi of the Commonwealth to receive initially a knighthood while still in office, and then a peerage, but he always spoke of his Chief Rabbinate in Ireland, which he began at the age of 28, as part of the happiest time in his life.
After all, it was to Dublin that he brought his bride, Amelie - daughter of a Paris rabbi.
While in Dublin, he quickly established himself not only as a leading figure frequently consulted on issues of the day - particularly on his speciality, medical ethics - but as the head of a community that was more than just an exotic minority.
However, those years were not always without problems. There was, for instance, the time when he travelled from Ireland to Liverpool - on a ferry that broke down on a Friday afternoon, which meant that he could not land in time for the Sabbath. Jewish law decreed that he remained on the boat until the holy day was over. He and his young son went backwards and forwards for the next 25 hours.
In New York he became the first rabbi of the prestigious Fifth Avenue Synagogue. Nine years later, he was elected Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, with a writ stretching from Hackney to Hong Kong.
He is survived by his wife, Amelie, their children and more than 30 grandchildren.
Lord Jakobovits: born 1921; died October, 1999