Slain underworld figure laid to rest

MOURNERS AT the funeral of murdered crime figure Eamonn Dunne were told yesterday that “some had lost the sense of the sacredness of human life”.

A packed congregation attended the funeral at the Church of the Holy Family, Aughrim Street, Dublin.

Dunne (34) was shot dead on April 23rd while he was drinking in the Faussagh House pub in Cabra in a suspected gangland shooting.

Gardaí believe he was involved in the murder of another gangland boss Martin Hyland in December 2006 along with an innocent bystander, Anthony Campbell.

Aughrim Street parish priest Fr Dermot Clarke did not mention Dunne’s criminal past. Instead, he said that life was precious and “we should value it”.

“Some have lost the sense of the sacredness of human life and that is to be regretted as we are all created in the image of God himself and we have been given the promise of eternal life,” he added.

Fr Clarke asked those present to allow the family to grieve in a “quiet and dignified way”.

The parish priest did not ask for a sign of peace, but he did ask for the congregation to pray for peace for the Dunne family.

He requested that all mobile phones and pagers be turned off and that nobody should smoke on church grounds. “The rule of law applies here,” he said.

At the Dunne family’s request, notices were put up asking for no video or photography inside the church.

Dunne’s body was taken by hearse from the family home near Blackhorse Avenue in Cabra to Aughrim Street.

Seven Bentley and Mercedes stretch cars followed the hearse to the funeral service.

His parents Eamonn and Margaret, his brother David, his sisters Suzanne and Lynne, his children, Amy, Seán, Libby and Ellis and his grandmother Rosie were the chief mourners.

He was buried afterwards at Dardistown Cemetery. He was a fan of Liverpool football club, and its anthem, You’ll Never Walk Alone, was played as the coffin was lowered into the ground.