The President, Mrs Robinson, and leaders of Church and State yesterday paid tribute to the work of Mother Teresa. The President said her greatest legacy would be the motivation she inspired among members of her own Order, the Missionaries of Christ, and the numerous young people who volunteered to work in her houses.
"My most enduring memory of Mother Teresa is when, in 1993, during a State visit to India, I had the opportunity to go to Calcutta and witness her commitment and dedication to the most marginalised groups in the poverty stricken areas of the city.
"I met her before in Dublin, a city she first came to as a young novice of the Loreto Sisters, but I feel that I came to understand the person when I saw her at her work in her beloved Calcutta. She did not discriminate between those in need - she reached out to all and tried to give them dignity."
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, said he had learned of the death of Mother Teresa with great sadness. She had been a shining light to all the world, constantly bringing to our attention the plight of the poor and others neglected or forgotten by society, he said. "As a former nun in the Loreto Order here in Dublin, she has a special place in the hearts of Irish people and I am pleased that we had the privilege of recognising her selfless work by conferring on her the freedom of our capital city in 1993."
The Archbishop of Armagh, Dr Sean Brady, said the Missionaries of Charity had lost a beloved mother, the world had lost an inspirational figure, and the little ones, the weak and the shunned, had lost a faithful servant and fearless champion.
"Mother Teresa personified the words of Jesus - Blessed are the merciful. Her mercy was one that went to meet the needs of others. She was consistent in her respect for and protection of human life at every moment of its existence."
The Tanaiste, Ms Harney, said Mother Teresa had established a strong bond with the people of Ireland and was a source of inspiration to all those who worked to improve the conditions of the poor and dispossessed.
The Dean of Christ Church, Dublin, the Very Rev John Paterson, said the world had been saddened this week and had lost greatly by the deaths of Mother Teresa and Princess Diana, friends in life and now joined in death. He said many people, whatever their needs, received from both that touch given with never a sign of condescension.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Burke, expressed his great sorrow. "Mother Teresa held a very special place in the hearts of the Irish people." The leader of Fine Gael, Mr John Bruton, said: "Mother Teresa is now where she always wanted to be, in the presence of God. In that sense her life is now fulfilled. The important thing is that her work for the poor of the world should continue. She would wish us now to pay tribute to her work and express our grief at her loss through prayer."
The leader of the Labour Party, Mr Dick Spring, said that through her work in the community with the sick and disadvantaged, Mother Teresa would be remembered as a truly kind and caring person.