Oliver Leacy, the widower who died defending his son and two youths against a violent gang, will be rewarded by being reunited with his wife in heaven, his eldest son told mourners at his funeral Mass yesterday.
There had been an "air of sadness" about his father since his wife Susan died in a car accident more than 10 years ago, Oliver Leacy jnr said.
"In the last few years that sadness had become a lot more potent."
The fact that his father now had "what he always wanted for so long", was a comfort to him and his family, he said.
"That is his reward for the good thing he did, for his bravery. He is happier in heaven than he could be on earth. He is back with the most precious thing he had."
The 51-year-old widower and father of two sons, Oliver and Mark, died last Saturday morning some seven hours after he had been beaten and kicked in an unprovoked attack by a gang of teenagers and young men in the garden of his home in Leixlip, Co Kildare.
Mr Leacy had been trying to protect his son and two young men who had been fleeing from the gang and sought refuge at his house when he was attacked.
Hundreds of mourners crowded into the Church of Our Lady of the Nativity yesterday to pay their respects to Mr Leacy, who was described as a man of dignity whose life was "needlessly taken away".
"A feature of his life was that he resisted injustice and sided with the underdog. He was well known within the community and people enjoyed his witty and his quiet style," Fr Michael Hurley told the congregation. His untimely death was a reminder of the "strange times" we live in, he said.
"We live in a world of violence where life, our most precious gift, is at times all too easily and needlessly taken away."
Mr Leacy had grown up on Celbridge Road and after his marriage had spent some time in Denmark and England. Following the death of his wife, he returned to Leixlip to raise his sons in his family home.
He had worked as a panel beater, but developed arthritis in recent years and retired early.
His sons were supported yesterday by Mr Leacy's mother, Josie, and his brothers Liam, Joe, Noel and Francis. Representatives from the Garda also attended the funeral
