PRESS RELEASE
15 JUNE 2006
RECEPTION OF THE REMAINS OF FORMER TAOISEACH CHARLES J. HAUGHEY
Introductory Words of Most Rev. Diarmuid Martin Archbishop of Dublin and Primate of Ireland
Our Lady of Consolation, Donnycarney, 2006
We come together to pray, to console and to reflect.
We pray for the repose of the soul of former Taoiseach Charles J. Haughey.
We confide him to the loving-kindness of that God who knows each of our hearts
and is full of compassion and mercy. We offer our sympathy and condolences to
his dear ones, especially his wife Maureen, his children and grandchildren, his
brother Fr. Eoghan and sisters.
We are here in different roles: we are here as a Nation – led by President Mary
Mc Aleese – remembering one whose many years of service in public life have impacted
the shape of our current economy and society; some are here as members of his family
who experienced his personal care during his life and returned that care lovingly
during his illness; some are here as members of this local community where he had
roots, both personal and in his function as a public representative.
All of us are here as a community of prayer. When we encounter death we are challenged
to reflect on life and its meaning and where enduring values lie. We come each of us
this evening reflecting on our own lives and on the meaning of life. Reflection on
death challenges us to transcend our own human fragility and direct our own lives and
our society along the path of life.
Saint Paul reminds us that Jesus “did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped”.
His path to glory was not through clinging to the outward signs of His authority and
power, but through total self-giving. He attained “the name that is above every other
name, so that every tongue can confess him as Lord” through self-giving love unto the
end.
In that self-giving until death, Jesus opened for us the path to eternal life. We are
here as a community of believers in that life- everlasting and we are called to witness
to that faith by the way we reflect in our lives the truth and the love of Jesus.
Ends.
Annette O Donnell
Communications Office
Archbishop’s House
Dublin 9
Ireland
Telephone: (01) 836 0723
Facsimile: (01) 836 0793
