Well over a thousand people have visited the Royal British Legion Club in Cork to pay their respects since the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. The steward at the Legion offices, Mr Denis Olliffe, said the outpouring of grief had been phenomenal. People who called to sign the book of condolences brought hundreds of floral tributes as a mark of respect to the princess.
Mr Olliffe said that earlier in the week, the mourners had been restrained as they signed the book, but on Saturday, as the funeral was taking place in London, "it got to everyone and there were a lot of tears".
The book of condolences at the Royal British Legion, which has 280 members - a majority of them ex-servicemen in the British Army - will remain open until tonight. It will then be forwarded to Kensington Palace in London.
Mr Olliffe said that a striking feature of the public demonstration of support was the number of people who came to shake his hand and to say that the tragedy in Paris transcended past differences between this country and Britain and that old hatreds should be forgotten.
A spokesman for City Hall in Cork said the five books of condolences which had been opened following the death of the princess had been signed by several thousand people. There had been many requests from people at work to allow the books to remain open so that they could visit City Hall in the evening to sign them.
The spokesman said there had been hundreds of floral tributes to the princess and these had been sent to the leukaemia ward at the Mercy Hospital in Cork and to the Marymount Hospice. "Vast numbers of people have been streaming into City Hall since last Monday when we announced that we were opening the books in tribute to the late princess. It has been a remarkable outpouring of grief," he said. An inter-denominational memorial service for Diana was held yesterday in Thurles, which some local people regard as her ancestral town.
There was a large attendance at the service in St Mary's Church of Ireland, where Lady Elizabeth Butler, a 17th century ancestor of the princess, is buried. The service was led by Rev Thomas Sherlock, Rector of St. Mary's, and Father James Walton. Some 2,000 people had already signed a book of condolences in the church. The attendance included Mrs Mae Quinn, chairperson of Thurles Urban Council; Mr. Harry Ryan, chairman of North Tipperary County Council; Mrs Catherine Lowry, wife of former government minister; Mr Michael Lowry TD; and Mr Matty Ryan, chairman of North Tipperary Hospice, who had met the princess on a number of occasions.