As they say in that part of the world, "the wind'd cut you". It blew hard and bitter about St Patrick's Church in Castlerea last Tuesday morning as the remains of Peter Hester were put into a hearse after Mass.
He was 86 last Saturday, and was of such stern stuff as old Fianna Failers are made. He saw the world through Dev-tinted glasses.
Among the mourners at his removal the previous evening was the former Taoiseach, Albert Reynolds. He was greeted like a hero by people who brought him for tea to houses where they have his picture on the walls. In his native county he will always be remembered as the man who brokered the peace. And last weekend the follow-through from that first ceasefire was all anyone could talk about in Roscommon. That and who would take Mr Reynolds's place as a TD for Roscommon/Longford.
"It is the most unnatural constituency in the country," observed Eamon Campion, a former chairman of the Castlerea Fianna Fail cumann. And he is right. Roscommon/Longford was not necessary. It was invented. The two counties have little in common. They belong to different provinces, are in separate health board areas, their voters tend to avoid spreading support across county boundaries, and running right through it is that one, true, if unacknowledged Irish border, the Shannon.
But at least with Mr Reynolds there was a connection. He is from Rooskey on the Roscommon side of the river, and so could be identified not just as Roscommon's but also as the west of Ireland's first Taoiseach. Even if his political base has always been in Longford.
The sale of his house came as a surprise to many constituents, who really hadn't believed the mutterings that the 1997 general election would be his last. That's the public for you. Already it is something of an accepted wisdom that Mr Reynolds's successor will be a Longford candidate, as he is one of "their" TDs.
As things now stand, there are two likely candidates, possibly three. These are local publican/ auctioneer/undertaker Peter Kelly, secondary school teacher Denis Glennon, and Louie MacEntire, a farmer in the north of the county. One of those who helped carry Peter Hester's coffin to the hearse in Castlerea was Mr Kelly, the deceased man's son-in-law. He was also the undertaker.
Indeed, you could say it was a case of four funerals and a candidate where Peter Kelly was concerned last Tuesday. As well as his father-in-law's funeral in Castlerea, Mr Kelly's undertakers took remains to churches in Lanesboro and Kilashee, as well as from a church in Longford town.
A notice on the door of his public house on Main Street, Longford, explained the premises was closed because of Peter Hester's death.
Inside, it was crowded with a funeral party eating sandwiches and drinking tea. The back lounge is a shrine to Albert Reynolds, with photos of Albert kissing a disgruntled child, Albert talking out of the side of his mouth to (then) Bishop Cahal Daly, Albert with an enormous poster of Charles Haughey breathing over his shoulder, Albert with nuns, Albert with Kathleen, Albert with schoolchildren. Albert with pleasure. Albert is a friend of Peter Kelly's, "personally and politically".
Mr Kelly (53) has been a county councillor since 1985. He is on the town UDC, has been on the Fianna Fail national executive for about 12 years, and is one of the key members of that extraordinary machine, the Fianna Fail organisation in Co Longford. His father was a Fianna Fail councillor, his grandfather came from Roscommon his wife is from Castlerea, just about everyone in Co Longford knows him, and, yes, if it was the wish of the party organisation, he would be delighted to go forward as successor to Mr Reynolds.
Explaining this, he sat behind the desk in his office with St Therese of Lisieux adorning a calendar on the wall behind him and a sign proclaiming "For Sale, Kelly Auctioneers" on a wall beside him.
A distressed and dishevelled woman came in, accompanied by children. She was looking for a house, and thought she knew where there might be one. He talked to her sympathetically. She left. "There but for the grace of God . . ." he said, writing details in a ledger. It would appear his pedigree is flawless. But he is not alone.
Mr Glennon (49) teaches maths, geography, and computer studies at St Mel's College in the town. His is another of Longford's old Fianna Fail families, and on both sides. He comes from teachers and business people, and his mother, an O'Farrell, was a founder member of Cumann na mBan in the town. A comparative newcomer to public life, he arrived in style last year, topping the poll in the UDC elections. One astute local observer described him as belonging to "the politically correct wing of Fianna Fail".
He has "not had the opportunity to develop the closeness" to Mr Reynolds as have had others, he said, but is "personally on good terms" with the former Taoiseach. It "is possible" he may seek to be the candidate to succeed Mr Reynolds "but ultimately the (convention) delegates will decide", he said.
What is certain, though, is that he will be standing for the county council in next year's local elections.
These elections will be crucial to those with ambitions to rise and follow Albert. ail Ceantair, believes that the performance of the "2/3/ 4/5 at max" potential successors to Albert in those elections will play a major part in who will get the party nomination for his seat.
They are also likely to clarify whether any of the Reynolds family intends standing for the seat. Some of them are said to have been soured by recent treatment of their father. Philip, his eldest son and managing director of C & D Foods in Edgeworthstown, has not decided against it, but is understood to feel it would be easier to do so in a few years' time when his children are a bit older.
He has always had a keen interest in politics, but is thought to have "gone off them" in recent years. This is believed to be a temporary little estrangement. It seems he too has the virus, "the bug", as Peter Kelly called it.
Mr Reynolds will not be putting pressure on any of the family to stand. "That is a matter for them," he said. Nor will he be favouring any of his likely successors.
And, though he has sold the family home there, he will not be severing his ties with Longford. It made more sense for himself and Kathleen to base themselves in Dublin where most of their children are. He intends returning to business full-time when his lecture tour series ends shortly.
For Mickey Doherty, Mr Reynolds's former adviser, it is the end of the road too. Speaking from his hospital bed in Cappagh, where he had a hip replaced, he said that after 36 years as a councillor he would be stepping down. ail director of elections in Longford. As with just about everyone spoken to, he is full of praise for all Mr Reynolds has done for Longford. "Genius", "a brilliant candidate", "the best that Longford will ever have," are some of the epithets he threw Mr Reynolds's way, as did the other dedicated followers in their fashion. All sense the passing of an era in Longford. Its end has begun.