Tributes were paid to Mr John Meagher, chairman of Irish Marketing Surveys and former chief executive and deputy chairman of Independent Newspapers, at his funeral on Saturday.
Mr Meagher (62) died on Thursday after a short illness. At the funeral Mass, his daughter, Elizabeth, described him as "the measure of all I aspire to be". His son, David, pointed to his father's "boundless generosity which touched the lives of so many people".
Leading the mourners in the Church of St Theresa in Mount Merrion, Dublin, were his widow, Mrs Judith Meagher, and children Rachel, Lizzie and David, his partner Ms Marianne Giumonde, and his five sisters, Anne, Deirdre, Geraldine, Joan and Patricia.
Mr Meagher had served as an altar boy in the church which was packed with several hundred mourners. Father Peter Kilroy and Father Maurice O'Shea, two of the six priests who concelebrated the Mass, had served as altar boys alongside Mr Meagher. His cousin, Father John Byrne, also concelebrated the Mass.
The Taoiseach was represented by his ADC, Capt Ger O'Grady.
Among the mourners were many friends and former colleagues from the Independent Group, including Sir Anthony O'Reilly, chairman of Independent News and Media, his wife, Mrs Chryss O'Reilly, Dr O'Reilly's sons, Gavin and Tony, and their wives, Alison and Robyn. Mr Liam Healy, deputy chairman of Independent News and Media, his wife Eithne, Mr David Palmer, chairman of Independent Newspapers (Ireland), and Mr Aengus Fanning, editor of the Sunday Independent, also attended.
Also present was the chairman of The Irish Times Trust, Major T.B. McDowell, the chairman of The Irish Times Ltd, Mr Don Reid, and Mr Eoin McVey, managing editor of The Irish Times.
Labour Party leader Mr Ruairi Quinn, Dr Garret FitzGerald and his son Mark, and Mr Albert Reynolds were also among the mourners. Also present were Dr Eamon de Valera, Mr Jack Jones, Dr Tony Ryan, the British ambassador, Mr Ivor Roberts, and the US ambassador, Mr Mike Sullivan.
Trumpeter Donal Brady played O Mein Papa during the Mass, while Professor Peter O'Brien accompanied singer Deirdre O'Callaghan on piano for a rendition of The Parting Glass at the close of the service. It was followed by a private cremation.
Mr Meagher was the founder and chairman of Irish Marketing Surveys (IMS). He developed a fascination with the media when he worked in market research in Canada as a student and he returned to Ireland in 1963 to found IMS. He became involved with Independent Newspapers in 1982 as a non-executive director and was appointed executive deputy chairman and chief executive in 1985.
He retired as chief executive in 1990 and was succeeded as deputy chairman by Mr Healy last year. He also served as a director with CIE, TAM (the TV survey company) and was chairman of Friends First and honorary treasurer of the National Maternity Hospital. He was chairman and majority shareholder of IMS.
Speaking at the Opportunities 2001 jobs fair at the RDS, Dublin, on Saturday morning, the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, paid tribute to the "long and distinguished career" of Mr Meagher and expressed his condolences to Mr Meagher's family and friends.
