SEÁN LOFTUS had touched many lives in his local Clontarf community and in greater Dublin, Fr Cormac McIlraith said yesterday when he received the remains of the former TD and lord mayor of Dublin at St Gabriel’s Church in Dollymount.
Fr McIlraith, moderator of three Dublin parishes, said Mr Loftus had also touched the lives of his family.
Fr McIlraith noted that Mr Loftus had been a regular attender at the church as he bid him farewell in a homily laced with tributes and poetry.
“We let you go. We love you, we miss you, we want you to be happy, go safely . . .’’
Mr Loftus, a life-long environmental campaigner who once changed his name to Seán “Dublin Bay Rockall” Loftus, died in Dublin on Saturday.
Family members placed a copy of the Bible and a framed photograph of Mr Loftus as lord mayor on his coffin.
Former parish priest Fr Miceal Hastings recited a decade of the rosary.
The chief mourners were Mr Loftus’s wife Una, daughters Muireann and Fiona, and son Ruairí.
The attendance reflected Mr Loftus’s life as an environmentalist, politician, neighbour and friend.
A former Supreme Court judge, Mr Justice Hugh O’Flaherty, recalled Seán Loftus as an idealistic young law student of the 1950s before qualifying as a barrister.
“He was passionate about what he believed in.’’
The attendance included Minister for the Environment John Gormley; Minister for Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs Pat Carey; Dr Michael Woods TD, Finian McGrath TD, Senator Feargal Quinn, and Mr Justice George Birmingham.
Colleagues from Mr Loftus’s time on Dublin City Council included Dermot Fitzpatrick, Brendan Lynch, Seán Kenny, Michael Keating, Pat Carroll and Michael O’Halloran.
Former lord mayor of Dublin Eibhlin Byrne was also present.
Mr Loftus will be buried today in St Fintan’s Cemetery, Sutton, after 11am Mass.
