Former editor of the Irish Independent Mr Aidan Pender was described at his funeral Mass yesterday as a big man with charisma and presence who was a good husband, father, friend and newspaperman.
Mr Pender's family, friends and former colleagues gathered at the Church of Our Lady of Victories, in Ballymun Road, Dublin, and heard of his involvement in the newspaper, the Cycle Squadron, now the 11th Cavalry Squadron, and An Oige, among other interests.
One of his sons, Mr Terry Pender, said Mr Pender was a good husband and a good father but also a great friend to them all. "He was a big man, with charisma and presence. You couldn't miss him coming into a room. He was witty, good-humoured and enjoyed a joke and was a good newspaperman," he said.
When Mr Pender was young, he went to Argentina and joined a religious order. He said it was the only way to travel then. When he arrived he left the order and worked on a ranch as a gaucho (cowboy). The story went that he was expelled from the seminary for putting up a spoof poster for a concert, naming the priests as various members of the band.
Mr Pender said his father had been a supporter of An Oige and had walked and cycled in Ireland and Europe. He had also been a founder member of the Cycle Squadron during the Emergency, of which he was very proud. He was also fond of bridge and his garden.
Father Frank McEvoy, who celebrated the funeral Mass, said that all those attending that day had different memories of Mr Pender. His wife would particularly remember celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary last year. The music at the Mass included Ave Maria, Be Still My Soul, and Going Home, from the New World Symphony. Readings from the Gospel and the Prayers of the Faithful were read by Mr Pender's grandchildren.
The chief mourners were his wife, Lil, sons, Kevin, Terry, Barry and daughters Sheila, Caitriona, and Joanne.
Also in attendance were Mr Liam Healy, the deputy chairman of Independent News and Media, and Mr Jack Gilroy, director, Independent Newspapers. Friends and colleagues included: Mr Louis McRedmond, former editor of the Irish Independent; Mr David McGrath, former company secretary of Independent newspapers;, Mr Paul Drury, former editor of the Evening Herald; Mr Joe Kennedy, former editor of the Sunday World; Mr Des Rushe, former columnist with the Irish Independent; former Fine Gael TD Dr Hugh B. Byrne and Commdt Oliver Barbour, of the 11th Cavalry Squadron.