Up to 150 people gathered in sunshine to pay their respects to the American rock climber Michael Reardon (35) who was washed out to sea last Friday. He was gathering his belongings having earlier scaled the cliff face twice.
A hundred feet below, Naval Service and Garda sub aqua teams were scouring the sea-bed for any trace of the solo climber, renowned internationally among mountaineers for his daring exploits without the use of ropes or safety equipment.
A traditional lament on harp and tin whistle opened the ceremony attended by the missing man's wife Marci, their 13-year-old daughter Nicki, close friends, members of the rescue services, gardaí, local people and well-known figures from the sporting and climbing worlds.
These included the mountain running champion John Lenihan and Kerry football great and island native Mick O'Connell.
Fr Kevin McNamara, a curate attached to Killarney parish, led the prayers. Mr Reardon "wouldn't hurt a rock by putting a claw into it" in order to preserve it for future generations, he said. "Is there anyone who could walk more humbly than that?" He had, however, left a mark that would never be forgotten.
He had pushed things to the limit. A ship was safe in the harbour, but that was not what ships were for, Fr McNamara said.
West Kerry GP and poet Dr Micheál Fanning read two of his poems, I run with the Winds and Moods, which he dedicated to Mr Reardon's daughter, and another about daring people and those waiting for them entitled Odysseus for Marci Reardon.
Mountaineer Con Moriarty, with whom Mr Reardon had stayed while in Kerry, said people had gathered to honour "a beautiful man" and a climber who was truly extraordinary. "I saw him as an artist," he said.
Mr Moriarty paid tribute to the rescue effort under way since Friday, to the Valentia Coast Guard, the Garda and Naval Service sub aqua units, local water rescue units, Valentia lifeboat coxswain Seán Murphy and photographer Damon Corso, who was documenting Mr Reardon's month-long climbing tour in Ireland.
Towards the end of the ceremony, Nicki spoke briefly of her father who was louder than most people and larger than life.
Flowers were brought and a plaque made of local Valentia slate. The hour-long ceremony ended with a haunting rendition on the bagpipes of the Blasket island elegy Port na bPucaí, an air said to echo the journey of the departing soul.