Paul Durcan laid to rest: 'We should all be saddened' says former Taoiseach

Paul Durcan, one of Mayo's more famous sons has been laid to rest.

Funeral Prayers were led by Fr John Kenny and Canon Tony King in St Mary’s Church in Westport.

Welcoming his family Nessa, Sarah and Síabhra and Michael and his cousins in the MacBride-Walsh and Durcan families to the service, Fr Kenny recited Our Lady of Westport.

Paul Durcan’s cousin Mary MacBride Walsh, as well as his grandchildren Rosie, Kitty, Beatrice, Edward, Arthur, Julia, Blaise Søren and Rosa read prayers of the faithful.

READ MORE: Westport first cousin of renowned Irish poet said he loved every 'stick and stone' in Westport Former Taoiseach Enda Kenny was among the many mourners. He told the Mayo News that “Paul Durcan was a very special person and we should all be saddened in Mayo to have lost one of our more famous sons.”

He has a “ a particular grá for his poem The Hay Carrier." One particular line that jumps out for Enda Kenny  is “Have you ever saved hay in Mayo in the rain?”

He says, “if you read it, agriculture and weather were very important in the Ireland that Paul Durcan grew up in and so wet weather yields a bad crop. So when I hear that line, have you ever saved hay in Mayo in the rain, I know exactly what he was talking about. He transported us to places and events and incidents that were unique. So we are all at a loss and we’ve lost a great friend and I'm sure the great red gate he refers to in The Hay Carrier is now open for himself to go home.”

John McHugh, a friend for over thirty years and one of the pallbearers, said he will miss Paul terribly. He described him as “a great friend, as well as a great support to artists in Achill.” He recalls the “so many good times in the late 1990s and 2000s with so many dinners together. He was always fun and a great person to visit for tea. We will miss him terribly.”

                                       Paul Durcan's wicker coffin being carried to the MacBride Family Cairn

Dr Brendan Flynn, of the Clifden Arts Centre, has wonderful memories of Paul Durcan’s ‘many, many visits’ to Clifden and reading in the community school. He said that “walking around Clifden yesterday, he met so many past students who remember Paul Durcan and everywhere he went, Paul Durcan's name was mentioned by someone associated with the school. So that was the impression he made on people. He was an extraordinary poet. He was alert, sensitive, aware, honest, humorous, sad. He had all the qualities.”

After the funeral prayers, Paul Durcan's cortege made its way to Aughavale Cemetery. Members of his family laid white roses on the wicker coffin as he was laid to rest in the MacBride Family Cairn.

Rain fell as a Moorish-interpretation of 'O Westport in the light of Asia Minor' was played by Dan Delaney on the soprano saxophone and Kathy Quinn on the tin whistle as mourners said their final goodbye.

Dan had composed the piece the day before and it is based on Paul Durcan’s first solo collection of poetry.

Dan Delaney and  Kathy Quinn