Former Limerick councillor Michael Kelly entered politics to reach out and help people in need, mourners heard at his funeral Mass yesterday.
Mr Kelly (48) died in hospital in Limerick on Sunday night more than four weeks after he suffered a gunshot wound to the head.
Up to 500 people packed into the Holy Family parish church in Southill yesterday for Mr Kelly's Mass.
Earlier, members of local soccer clubs Hill Celtic and Carew Park shouldered the coffin as the funeral cortege made its way from the home of Mr Kelly's mother to the church just 200 yards away.
The family had held a wake in Mrs Rita Kelly's house at Lilac Court, Southill, where the former councillor was discovered with a gunshot wound on May 14th.
The coffin was draped in the flag of Mr Kelly's beloved Hill Celtic, with which he had been very involved since childhood.
Mourners were led by his mother, wife Majella, seven children, eight brothers and three sisters.
Several current and former Limerick councillors were also among the large gathering of mourners.
The controversial former city councillor never regained consciousness after the shooting.
He was treated initially at Cork University Hospital, and then transferred to the Midwestern Regional Hospital in Limerick, where he died.
In his homily Father Thomas Carroll said the Kelly family had suffered greatly over the past month as Mr Kelly clung to life in hospital.
"The Kelly family had a hard time travelling up and down to hospital in Cork after the incident. Their hope grew dimmer and dimmer as time went by. It was a huge emotional and psychological drain on the family. As each day passed, it became painfully obvious that there was little hope for him and the family prayed for his release," he said
Mr Kelly had led a colourful life, Father Carroll said.
"In the course of his life and in spite of his trials and tribulations, Mikey reached out and helped people, especially those in need. He entered politics with this aim in mind.
"Today we ask the Lord to remember Mikey and his good deeds, and to forgive him his sins and may he rest in peace now."
At the end of the Mass, musician Michael Furey of the Furey Brothers played guitar and sang The Old Man as the coffin was carried from the church.
The funeral cortege then made the journey the short distance to Mount St Oliver Cemetery, where Mr Kelly was laid to rest.