The President, Mrs McAleese, led the mourners at the funeral of the former Fine Gael TD and minister, Mr John Boland, at St Patrick's Church, Skerries, Co Dublin, yesterday.
Family, friends and former colleagues gathered to pay tribute to Mr Boland, who was a member of the Oireachtas from 1969 to 1989 and served in a number of government ministries in the 1980s. He died on Monday after a long illness.
The church service was conducted by a number of priests, including the parish priest of Skerries, Father Leo Quinlan; Mgr Owen Sweeney, who married Mr Boland and his wife, Kay, 25 years ago; and Father Paul Lavelle, a family friend.
Father Lavelle praised Mr Boland's intelligence and integrity and referred to his abolition of corporal punishment when he was minister for education. Mr Patrick Cooney, a former Fine Gael TD, minister and MEP, praised Mr Boland's work as a politician, and later as a barrister, adding that his exceptional intellectual capacity was evident in his achievements on the issues he believed in. "In his life, he gave witness to the parable of the talents. He did not squander them; he employed them to the maximum of his ability. We are sad that we have lost a true friend, and the loss is more for Kay and the family. We are now left with memories, but good memories. Above all, we remember a steadfast friend," he said.
The chief mourners were Mr Boland's wife, Kay, his daughter, Grace, son, John, brother, Cathal, and sister, Marian.
Two former Fine Gael taoisigh, Mr Liam Cosgrave and current party leader Mr John Bruton, were among those in attendance. The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, was represented by his ADC, Capt Michael Kiernan.
The Government Chief Whip, Mr Seamus Brennan, and the Fine Gael deputy leader, Mrs Nora Owen, were also present. Other Fine Gael mourners in attendance included: TDs Mr Bernard Durkan, Mr Jim Mitchell, Mr Gay Mitchell, Mr Austin Currie, Mr Alan Dukes, Mr Sean Barrett, Mr Seymour Crawford, Mr Tom Enright and Mr John Farrelly; Senators Maurice Manning, Liam Cosgrave, Joe Doyle, Madeleine Taylor-Quinn and Paul Coghlan; Ms Avril Doyle MEP; former TDs Mr Paddy O'Toole, Mr Michael Begley, Mr John Donnellan, Mr Richie Ryan, Mr Tom O'Donnell and Mr Fergus O'Brien; and the party's general secretary, Mr Tom Curran.
The Labour TD and former tanaiste, Mr Dick Spring, was also present, as were the former Labour TD and MEP, Mr Barry Desmond, a former attorney general, Mr John Rogers, and Mr Michael Mills, who was appointed the first ombudsman by Mr Boland. Mr Boland's body was later cremated at a private ceremony in Glasnevin crematorium.
