Stephen Clinch was a 'natural born entertainer' who led an extraordinary life, his funeral mass heard today.
The Love/Hate star's funeral mass took place this morning as the congregation gathered in the Church of Our Lady Immaculate in Darndale wearing Celtic jerseys.
'Clinchy's' natural wit and readiness to hop onto any stage was remembered, as well as his efforts to turn his life around after serving jail time.
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The actor played 'Noely' in the Love/Hate series, with his feud with 'Fran' being mentioned during a lively eulogy.
Family and friends explained that the 52-year-old died suddenly of a heart-attack, and stressed that they would like him to be remembered for the youth work he did in the community. He had warned many young people about the dangers of addiction.
Stephen's great love for his partner Karen and children Shauna, Stephen and Alan was remembered.
'You'll Never Walk Alone' played as his coffin was brought into the church with a pool cue one of the gifts being brought to an altar, in reference to a memorable Love/Hate scene.
His cousin, Michelle Edwards, told Dublin Live that the actor's death was a complete shock.
She said: "I had great craic with my cousin Clinchy, loads of times out at my mam's family home.
"He used to come to our family parties and he would be chatting up all our neighbours. He would get up and give us a song. It took me a few days to get over the death."
Fellow Love/Hate actor John Connors paid tribute to the Dublin man's natural flair for the art, having never been trained.
He warned that some of the "darker" stories might make him have to do a confession afterwards.
He said: "This was a man that wrote songs, who sang, who played the drums and the guitar. He was a brilliant actor that never acted a day in his life. He was real.
"When I saw the snooker cue there - I had to laugh. The snooker cue was used against the character Fran in Love/Hate by Clinchy who, let's just say, really enjoyed doing that.
"I remember one time I asked him to do a stand up gig in Ballymun. Clinchy could just do anything. He didn't care. He'd get up on any stage.
"There was an eight week course list or two hours a week because stand-up comedy is an art. You have to do what you're doing. Clinchy showed up for the first week, did two hours and never showed up again.
"Nine weeks later, he shows up at Ballymun Axis Theatre to do a five-minute gig without having done the course. He went up and did 35 minutes. we had to drag him off the stage."
"We did 'Stars on the Rise' for charity. He chose '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction' by Mick Jagger. He got up on the stage wearing Karen's tights. He is a madman. He did all the Mick Jagger moves. What he didn't realise was that the song was eight minutes long and half-way through he was sweating. By the end of it, we nearly had to get an ambulance for him."
Stephen's son Alan paid tribute to his dad's quick sense of humour and thanked everyone for supporting his family.
He said: "When I first got to know him properly it was over the phone and I rang him one day. There was murder going on in the back of the house. He asked what vegetable makes you cry and I said an onion. He asked if I'd ever gotten a smack of a turnip.
"That was just the way he was. All I can say is that he's going to be missed, really, really missed. Thanks everyone for coming."
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