THE REMOVAL of the author, columnist and broadcaster Nuala O'Faolain, who died late on Friday night, will take place in Fairview, Dublin this evening.
O'Faolain (68) was diagnosed three months ago with terminal lung cancer. She died at the Blackrock Hospice in Dublin.
She had been inundated with good wishes after she spoke frankly about her illness on RTÉ Radio's Marian Finucane Showlast month.
O'Faolain was already an established columnist, broadcaster and producer before her memoir Are You Somebody?was published in 1996. It became an international bestseller. She went on to write a novel My Dream of You, a second volume of memoirs called Almost Thereand the biography The Story of Chicago May.
Friends and colleagues paid warm tribute to her yesterday. Her former partner Nell McCafferty said she and Nuala were "near perfect" travelling companions. "When Nuala and I stepped off a plane, the world was full of pleasure and interest," she said.
Because they were both born in March, they combined their birthday celebrations and usually booked into a hotel and went climbing, she said.
She said she would never forget one such outing in Wexford. "It was the 1st of March and there was snow on top of the mountain. A mist descended and when it rose the mountain top was covered in March hares. It was a moment of clear joy."
Writer Colm Tóibín first met O'Faolain almost 30 years ago and said she was "the best company in the world" when they attended the opera together in New York.
"The level of gossip at the interval was just terrific," he said. "But she also took in the music with her body in a way you could actually feel beside you."
He said she could be a very solitary and private person. "That's in a way what made her books and broadcasts very strong and powerful," he said.
Long-time friend Anthony Cronin said O'Faolain would be missed in Irish life.
"She had a great clarity and originality of mind. She also had a great sense of humour. This combination made her a very rewarding companion."
He said he was very struck by the frankness and honesty of her memoir and greatly admired it.
The writer Anne Haverty said her abiding memory of O'Faolain would be of her singing voice. "The strongest memory I have of her is of her singing at a party some years ago. It was a Scottish ballad and it was absolutely exquisite," she recalled. "She had a very sweet voice."
In an appreciation published in yesterday's Observernewspaper, broadcaster Marian Finucane said that O'Faolain had "a wonderful way of articulating her ideas. As well as having a fierce intellect, she had the common touch in her ability to communicate, and she was a magnificent performer, not just on radio but on television as well".
Ms Finucane said she had never seen such a reaction to a programme as she had when O'Faolain spoke about her illness last month.
"She was ruthlessly truthful and honest. We're very good at celebrating the life of somebody who has died. But what she was talking about were her fears in coping with the reality of dying," she said.
O'Faolain was "truly overwhelmed" by the outpouring of affection towards her, Ms Finucane said. "And I think it gave her a great lift and a bounce."
After the interview, Ms Finucane was contacted by a woman who had taught O'Faolain at St Louis's boarding school in Monaghan. The teacher said that they quickly realised they had something very special on their hands when they met Nuala. "They could hardly keep up with her reading and were constantly trying to figure out ways to encourage her in all the right directions, even by giving her access to books that no one else at that school had access to."
The Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Martin Cullen described O'Faolain as "a shining academic" and a powerful presence on the literary scene.
"Nuala O'Faolain with her trademark frankness, spoke courageously from the heart and wrote with luminous clarity," he said.
"Her intimate memoir Are You Somebody?caught the imagination of the public, not just in Ireland but around the world.
"Her searing honesty, particularly in recent weeks in relation to her illness had a profound impact on many people."
The removal will take place this evening to the Church of the Visitation, Fairview, arriving at 5.30pm. The funeral will be held tomorrow after 12 noon Mass, to Glasnevin Crematorium.