All post offices around the State closed for one hour from noon yesterday as a mark of respect to Alan Cunniffe, the 32-year-old postmaster who was shot dead in Kilkenny last week.
Hundreds of people, including local political and business leaders, attended Mr Cunniffe's funeral Mass in St Canice's Church in Kilkenny yesterday.
Shops and businesses closed as the funeral cortege passed through the city centre streets to St Kieran's cemetery. It halted briefly outside the Cunniffe family's Centra supermarket and post office on John's Green.
Mr Cunniffe died in hospital last Friday shortly after being shot while pursuing a gunman who had robbed the post office. A man has since been charged with his murder.
Throughout yesterday morning, a constant stream of people called to Kilkenny's main post office on High Street to sign a book of condolence.
At the funeral, parish priest Fr Jim Murphy thanked the people of Ireland for the "thousands of messages of support, solidarity and sympathy". He welcomed the representatives of President Mary McAleese and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, whose aides-de-camp Capt Mick Treacy and Comdt Michael Murray attended.
The chief mourners included Mr Cunniffe's mother, Muriel, brothers Declan, James, Enda and Thomas; and sisters Ann, Muriel and Emily.
Ann Cunniffe explained the significance of gifts brought to the altar which, she said, were "symbols of the life of a kind, warm, loving brother".
Among them were a shirt because he was always "immaculately dressed"; a jar of Maxwell House coffee, because "there was nothing he enjoyed more while watching TV after a long day"; the keys to the family supermarket, "his second home"; and a copy of his thesis.
There was laughter in the church as she recalled how he had often vainly tried to explain what the thesis was about - "isolation and characterisation of two bacteriocinogenic lactococcal strains" - which none of the family understood.
Mr Cunniffe, a microbiologist, had worked in food research before returning home to help run the family's supermarket and post office business when his late father became ill.
Many in the congregation wept as Thomas Cunniffe described his brother's "smile which could light up a whole room". Alan, he said, was a man who "had a great sense of style", "loved being with his family", and was "kind, charming and had time for everyone".
He added that "the shop was where he wanted to be; he was so proud to be running the family business". Only last weekend his brother had been "on cloud nine" about how successful the year just ending had been. Now, he continued, "the only consolation is that Alan is up in heaven with our dad talking shop".
Fr Murphy spoke of "an innocent life lost in an act of callous and revolting violence". He added: "We urge all in responsibility and leadership in our country to rid our society of the evil of violence and the disregard for the sacredness of human life."
An Post was represented by chairwoman Margaret McGinley and chief executive Donal Connell. Dublin-based postal worker Éamonn Walsh played a lament on uileann pipes.
