Showjumper Paul Darragh was remembered at his funeral Mass yesterday as a "dashing" competitor who made Ireland "better known, better appreciated and better understood throughout the entire world".
Father Brian D'Arcy told mourners at Rathfeigh Church, Co Meath, that Mr Darragh's life was one of "fantastic achievement". "There is hardly a country in the world of showjumping which is not represented here, and I know that all of the world of showjumping is mourning the loss of one of its greatest, greatest characters; one of its greatest competitors."
Driving wind and rain did not deter mourners, many of whom were forced to stand outside the church throughout the ceremony. "I think Paul will have a great laugh at some of the people he has kept out in the rain this morning," Father D'Arcy remarked.
He noted Mr Darragh's family had "specifically wanted me to remember all of those people who are suffering with them in Asia", noting yesterday was a day of prayer in the Catholic Church for the victims of the tsunami disaster.
"The question that keeps coming to all of us, and the question that I have been wrestling with all week, and I have to say without much of an answer, is 'Where does a good God fit in all of this?' If I had the answer to that I would give it to you. But I don't have the answer ... But what I do understand is this, that in the wrestling sometimes we meet God in unexpected places." Father D'Arcy said "the memory we all have of Paul is full of life, and vibrant, and full of fun".
"He could be serious for maybe 10 seconds but after that it was the end of the seriousness. A joke will come in somehow. That was part of his loveliness in life. He was mercurial in that sense. He actually didn't know what he was thinking some of the time. He actually didn't know how he was feeling more of the time, simply because there was this personality which didn't stay in the same place too long.
"That was maybe his greatest vice, but it was also his greatest virtue, in that he never let things get to him, and he never let himself be held in one place too long."
Father D'Arcy said his family "knew him as someone who would spend the time on an old pony as much as on a champion horse, a man who had his own spirituality in the loveliness of nature in the love an animals and the love of people and seeing people develop their potential."
Mr Darragh's daughters, Lynda and Amy, recited what they said was their father's favourite poem, If, by Rudyard Kipling. The President, Mrs McAleese, was represented by her aide-de-camp, Capt Michael Treacy, while the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, was represented by his aide-de-camp, Comdt Michael Murray.
Also in attendance were Canon John Clarke of the Church of Ireland; and the remaining members of the triple Aga Khan-winning team of 1977-79, Eddie Macken, Con Power and James Kernan.
Other members of the showjumping fraternity, including Peter Charles, Jack Doyle, Edward Doyle, Cian O'Connor, John Whitaker, and other members of the British showjumping team, were joined by representatives of the wider sporting and civic community, including Mr John Treacy, chief executive of the Irish Sports Council; Mr Pat Hickey, president of the Olympic Council of Ireland; the Garda Commissioner Mr Noel Conroy; and Lord Mount Charles of nearby Slane Castle.
• Mr Darragh, who was 51, is survived by his wife Jane, daughters Lynda and Amy and son Andy.