Priest pays tribute to special qualities of Noel Carroll

Faithfulness and love were the hallmarks of Mr Noel Carroll, mourners at the removal of the former athlete and spokesman for Dublin Corporation were told last night.

Father Kieran McDermott, a past president of UCD athletics club, said Mr Carroll was a "consummate communicator" who had made an "immense" contribution to the civic life of Dublin. Mr Carroll died last Friday after suffering an apparent heart attack while jogging in UCD.

The President, Mrs McAleese, and her husband Martin, were among the mourners at the removal in St Ann's Church in Shankill, Co Dublin.

The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, was present and the leader of Fine Gael, Mr John Bruton, was also in attendance.

Mr Carroll's wife, Deirdre, sang the hymn Nearer my God to Thee. He is also survived by his four children, Enda, Nicola, Noel and Stephen.

In his address, Father McDermott recalled Mr Carroll's last words, spoken to a scholarship student with whom he was jogging last Friday: "Have you ever read Jonathan Livingston Seagull?"

This was especially appropriate because, more than anything, this book was about faithfulness, Father Carroll said.

"Everything that Noel Carroll did and everything he believed in was permeated by a great sense of faithfulness.

"Noel had a strong sense that faithfulness was the ability to stick to one's choices. There can be no happiness, no growth except in the faithfulness of one's obligations."

Father McDermott said it was extraordinary that the Gospel for last Sunday was the letter of St Paul to Timothy, with its lines: "I have fought the good fight and I have finished the race".

He recalled that Mr Carroll, "the consummate communicator", had often advised him on the many aspects of the Catholic Church's problems. "He argued that the church needed to do a lot more about bringing the truth of the Gospel to the modern world."

As a husband, a father, an athlete and someone who had made an "immense" contribution to the civic life of Dublin, Mr Carroll had tried to lead a life steeped in God's love, he concluded.

Fellow athletes and Olympians Ronnie Delaney, Eamon Coghlan and John Treacy were present at the removal, as were many of the scholarship athletes at UCD whom Mr Carroll used to train.

Mr Carroll's long-time associate at Dublin Corporation, the former city manager, Mr Frank Feely, attended, as did Mr Jim Ruane, president of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce.

Mr Carroll was chief executive of the chamber at the time of his death.

Politicians who were present at the removal included the Minister for Sport, Dr McDaid, Ms Mary Hanafin and Mr Niall Andrews of Fianna Fail; Mrs Nora Owen, Mr Jim Mitchell and Mr Gay Mitchell of Fine Gael; and Ms Des O'Malley of the Progressive Democrats.

Mr Carroll's funeral takes place after 11 a.m. Mass today in St Anne's Church to Shanganagh Cemetery.