The poet Brendan Kennelly had “an amazing capacity” to connect with people and a most glorious Kerry accent, his funeral Mass has heard.
Kennelly, one the country’s most popular poets and a former professor of English at Trinity College Dublin, died at the weekend aged 85.
His funeral, which took place at the Church of St Michael the Archangel in his native Ballylongford, Co Kerry, heard prayers for educators, artists, writers, the marginalised and healthcare workers. His coffin was draped in the yellow and blue of Ballylongford GAA club.
A guard of honour was provided by Listowel Writers' Week, which included members of the family of the late John B Keane
Parish priest Fr Michael Hussey said the congregation had gathered to bury a poet, an academic and a scholar. He said Kennelly’s craft, like that of all writers, was one of safeguarding memory, and the poet had once described memorising as “an act of love”.
Hussey said Kennelly had “a singing voice, made distinct by the Kerry accent”. There were many Kerry accents, but his lovely soft voice was one of the most glorious, the priest added.
Prayers of the Faithful were read by younger family members, who gave thanks for Kennelly’s 85 years, recalled his love of being among family, and remembered his daughter Doodle, who died earlier this year, his parents Bridie and Tim, and his brothers, Colm and John.
Friendships
One of the prayers recalled how Kennelly had “an amazing capacity to connect with people” and to form friendships. As a teacher and a poet he displayed huge generosity in fostering the talents and gifts of others, the Mass heard.
Prayers were also offered for “the wonderful staff” at Áras Mhuire nursing home in Listowel, where Kennelly spent his last days, and also for the lonely and marginalised.
At the end of the Mass there was a round of applause for his poem Begin, which was read to the congregation by Kennelly’s brother, Kevin.
A guard of honour was provided by Listowel Writers’ Week, which included members of the family of the late John B Keane and the poet Gabriel Fitzmaurice. President Michael D Higgins was represented by his aide de camp, Col Stephen Howard.
Outside the church, a woman who had taken the ferry across the Shannon from Co Clare said she came not to intrude but to show her respect for a writer and speaker she loved. “No matter what kind of day you were having, if you listened to his voice, it would calm you,” she said.
Kennelly is survived by his brothers, Alan, Paddy and Kevin, by his sisters, Mary Kenny and Nancy McAuliffe, and his three grandchildren. He was later buried in the medieval abbey cemetery of Lislaughtin.