Hundreds of people gathered in Tullamore, Co Offaly, yesterday for the funeral of Capt David O'Flaherty, one of the four Air Corps members who died in Friday's helicopter crash in Co Waterford.
Air Corps colleagues formed a guard-of-honour outside Clonminch cemetery as the funeral cortege arrived, preceded by the Band of the Defence Forces Training Centre at the Curragh.
The coffin, draped in the Tricolour, was borne on a gun carriage.
The attendance included many representatives of the Army, Naval Service, Irish Marine Emergency Service, the British Coast Guard, the Fire Brigade and Ambulance Services, the Garda Siochana and the Organisation of Ex-Servicemen and Women.
Capt O'Flaherty's body was buried beside that of his father, Frank, who died 22 years ago.
Prayers at the graveside were led by Father Brendan Madden, Air Corps chaplain, who was assisted by a local curate, Father Oliver Skelly.
The local Church of Ireland clergyman, Canon Alistair Grimason, gave a reading.
After the burial, three Marchetti Air Corps planes flew over the cemetery as a tribute. They were flown by a crew from the pilot training school, where Capt O'Flaherty had trained as a flying instructor.
The band sounded the Last Post, while a volley of shots was fired by Air Corps members. A piper, Airman Joe O'Donnell, sounded a lament.
The chief mourners were Capt O'Flaherty's wife, Maria; mother, Lily; brother, Dermot, and sister, Valerie.