Fr Eoghan Haughey wore link to his brother Charles ‘lightly’

Fr Eoghan Haughey wore his association with his famous brother Charles, the late taoiseach and Fianna Fáil leader, lightly, his funeral mass was told.

Fr Haughey (82), a priest with the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, died last week after a long illness.

Delivering the eulogy at his funeral in Inchicore, Dublin, fellow Oblate, Fr Paul Byrne, described him as a passionate man with a lot of interests.

Fr Haughey was "fiercely proud of his charismatic brother which showed in the great eulogy" he gave at his funeral in June 2006, Fr Byrne told the congregation at the Mary Immaculate Church on Tyrconnell Road.

In that address, Fr Haughey said his brother's intervention in Northern Ireland was critical in securing the peace process. In relation to the controversies that dogged the life of Charles Haughey, Fr Haughey added: "He came through it all without bitterness or anger. In all those 30 or 40 years of public life, when so much that was hostile was written or said about him, he never once retaliated in kind. Never a word in his own defence."

Reflecting on those words more than a decade later, Fr Byrne said Fr Haughey was a “grounded man” who never said, “my brother the taoiseach”.

“He never was part of all that he could have done with that if he wanted to,” he added.

‘Devotion’

Fr Byrne also recalled how Fr Haughey cared for his sister, Maureen, who died in 2014. His “loyalty and devotion to her was unbelievable”, he said.

He left the Oblate House of Retreat in Inchicore where he lived day after day to take the Luas and bus to visit his sister who was in Nazareth House on the Malahide Road, Fr Byrne recalled.

Fr Haughey was born in Donnycarney, Co Dublin, in May 1934 and was the youngest member of the Haughey family.

He entered the Oblate novitiate in September 1952 and was ordained in September 1958. He spent time on the missions in South Africa, the UK, the US and Canada before returning to Ireland in 2001.

He was a competitive sportsman who captained Dublin in the 1952 All-Ireland minor hurling final when they lost to Tipperary. In honour of his contribution to Dublin GAA, the Sam Maguire was presented at the altar as an offertory gift.

Among those present at the Mass were members of the Haughey family including Fr Haughey’s sister-in-law Maureen (the late taoiseach’s wife) and her children Seán, Conor, Ciarán and Eimear.

Also present were the former taoiseach Bertie Ahern, the former minister Michael Woods and former Fianna Fáil politicians including Donie Cassidy and Ned O'Keeffe. Fianna Fáil general secretary Seán Dorgan and Clare TD Timmy Dooley were also in attendance.

Fr Haughey was buried in the community cemetery reserved for members of the order at the back of the Oblate church.