THOUSANDS of mourners attended the removal of the Cathaoirleach of the Seanad, Mr Liam Naughten (52), to Drum Co Roscommon yesterday. He died in a car crash on Saturday on the main Athlone Ballinasloe Road.
For over four hours Mr Naughten's wife Mary, sons Denis, John, Liam Og, Joseph and Seamus and daughters Marion and Aine received sympathy from the many mourners in the mortuary in Portiuncula hospital Ballinasloe. The queue of people waiting to sympathise stretched hundreds of yards down the road. Mr Naughten's son, Dermot who was also involved in the crash has been transferred to Merlin Park hospital in Galway. The driver of the car, Mr Tom Duignan, also from Drum was transferred to the Mater Hospital in Dublin.
Among the mourners last night were the Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, and his wife, Finola, the Tanaiste, Mr Spring, the Minister for Health, Mr Noonan, the Minister for Defence and the Marine, Mr Barrett, and the Minister for Tourism, Mr Kenny. The Dail deputies present included Mr Naughten's constituency colleagues, Mr John Connor (FG), Mr Tom Fox and Mr Sean Doherty (FF). Also there were Mr Des O'Malley (PD), Mr Brian Cowen (FF) and Ministers of State Ms Avril Doyle (FG), Mr Gay Mitchell (FG) and Mr Eamon Gilmore (DL). Colleagues from the Seanad included Senators Fergal Quinn (Ind), David Norris (Ind) Shane Ross (FG), Tom Enright (FG), Louis Belton (FG), Gerry Reynolds (FG), Pascal Mooney (FF), Donie Cassidy (FF) and Frank Fahy (FF).
The Garda Commissioner Mr Patrick Byrne, attended and the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces was represented by Brig Gen John Martin, Custume Barracks, Athlone.
The cortege passed Mr Naughten's home in Ardkeenan outside Drum on its way to St Brigid's Church in his home place late last night. The body wash received by Canon Patrick Murray, PP, St Peter and Paul's, Athlone and Father Michael Breslin, CC, Drum. The coffin, draped in the Tricolour, was carried into the church by Mr Naughten's sons and his brother Seamus.
Mr Naughten will be buried today at Drum cemetery following requiem Mass at noon at St Brigid's Church.
In a statement last night the Ceann Comhairle, Mr Sean Treacy, expressed his profound shock and sadness at the untimely passing of his colleague. Speaking from his home in Clonmel, Co Tipperary, Mr Treacy extended his sympathy to the Naughten family.
"Liam was essentially a charming and gracious man who always greeted others with a smile. He was ideally suited to the role of Cathaoirleach of Seanad Eireann because of his unflappable and placid nature. However great the tension of the prevailing circumstances he would allow the storm to pass over and conduct the business of the House in a patients manner until calm was restored."
Canon Murray said that it spoke volumes for the type of man Liam Naughten was that the removal was three and half hours late, so many people had wanted to shake hands with his wife and family. He described the former Cathaoirleach as "a humble self effacing man, a noble man in every way, a man of integrity."