President Michael D Higgins joined the family and friends of Edna O’Brien to pay tribute to the Irish novelist at her funeral Mass.
A violinist and cellist performed ahead of the service at St Joseph’s Church in Tuamgraney, Co Clare, on Saturday.
O’Brien, a novelist, short story writer, memoirist, poet and playwright, died aged 93 last month after a long illness.
Mr Higgins was joined by his wife Sabina Coyne, who appeared emotional throughout the service.
O’Brien’s son Marcus Gebler told the funeral Mass that the purpose of his mother’s writing was to “illuminate, inspire, give courage” to those who struggled to speak out.
“In the last week, I’ve been moved and overwhelmed by the tributes and affection for our mother from so many different people in so many countries,” he said.
“For many writers, it is their first book that is their best, and they never quite live up to that initial curated distillation of their own life.
“But in our mother’s case, her development as a writer was an arc continually ascending from the lives of young women in 1940s Ireland – through age, experience and suffering – to 1990s Bosnia or Nigeria in 2014.”
Reflecting on the purpose of his mother’s stories, he added: “I believe in her case, it has been and will remain, to illuminate, inspire, give courage to and speak for those who are rendered dumb.”
Mr Gebler also read a poem he wrote for his mother, which received a round of applause from the congregation.
[ Edna O’Brien obituary: flamboyant, fearless, and outspoken Irish writerOpens in new window ]
He became emotional as he recalled what a doctor told him at the birth of his son, Oscar: “The most important thing you can do is to give him love as much as possible and all the time, and that is what we got from her.”
During the procession of symbols, family and friends laid items that held significance for O’Brien.
Her grandson Oscar presented her French Legion of Honour to represent a “lifetime of extraordinary achievement”.
Other items included a Buddha statue offered by her niece, which was said to symbolise how O’Brien was a “deeply spiritual woman whose curiosity and open heart led her to many faiths throughout her lifetime”, including Buddhism.
Her Irish literary inspirations were honoured by a friend who carried a copy of James Joyce’s Ulysses, and another presented a portrait of the late author Samuel Beckett, a friend of O’Brien.
The service was attended by Independent Clare TD Michael McNamara.
Among the songs performed during the service was the hymn The Lord’s My Shepherd.
O’Brien was best known for her portrayal of women’s lives against repressive expectations in Irish society.
Her first novel, The Country Girls, was published in 1960 and became part of a trilogy that was banned in Ireland for their references to sex and social issues.
O’Brien, who had lived in London since 1958, described an outraged response from people in Ireland in contrast to the book’s international success. – PA