Hundreds of friends, neighbours and former colleagues attended the removal of tribunal whistleblower James Gogarty on Saturday.
Mr Gogarty, who died on Thursday, was taken by hearse the short distance from his home on Willie Nolan Road, Baldoyle, Dublin, to the Church of Saint Peter and Paul, with the mourners following on foot.
Politicians and other public figures were generally conspicuous by their absence at the removal, although Labour TD Tommy Broughan, who helped to bring Mr Gogarty's allegations of planning corruption to light during the 1990s, was in attendance.
The former building company executive, who had been in declining health for some years, died at the age of 88 in Beaumont Hospital.
At the service, parish priest Fr Des Dooley recalled Mr Gogarty's "amazing career" and, in particular, the fame he achieved in his 80s when he appeared as a witness at the planning tribunal.
Fr Dooley pointed out that Mr Gogarty had been a regular worshipper at the church, and even had his own pew.
After the removal, Mr Broughan paid tribute to Mr Gogarty. "He was an outstanding guy. His decision to come forward and tell the truth marked the first step in bringing to light the suspicions everyone had about the outrageous corruption in the planning process."
Mr Broughan, the local TD for Baldoyle, recalled that when Mr Gogarty first approached him in 1995 he feared for his life. "It was him against the rest and he genuinely believed people were trying to kill him."
Mr Gogarty will be buried today after 11am Mass in Baldoyle. He is survived by his wife Anna, daughters Deirdre, Clodagh and Orla, and sons Eamon, Daragh, Enda and Conall.
Also at the weekend, Mr Justice Feargus Flood, who chaired the tribunal set up on foot of Mr Gogarty's allegations, paid tribute to the "unique personality" of Mr Gogarty. "I'm a barrister since 1949 and in the course of that career as a barrister and a judge, I don't think I have ever met as unique a character and as fascinating a character," he told Sky News.
"He gave his evidence in a forthright manner. He didn't spare anybody's name or reputation in the manner in which he gave it.
"He could be very humorous, very quick-witted. He could also be very difficult and not very co-operative sometimes. He was probably the greatest character I met in the course of my entire legal career."
