Ronan Keating has performed a musical tribute at the funeral of his older brother, as mourners were told of the “void” the death would leave behind in his family.
Ciaran Keating was described as a man full of “humour and fun and energy” who selflessly gave time to the family-founded cancer charity and who had been taken from his family “far too soon”.
Ciaran died after a car crash on Saturday in which his wife Annemarie was also injured.
His father Gerry told the congregation that the text he received that evening was the worst news he had received in his life.
Hundreds of people from the local community attended the funeral held at St Patrick’s Church in the small town of Louisburgh in Co Mayo.
Ronan, the former Boyzone star, sang This Is Your Song towards the end of the service in an emotional tribute to his older brother.
The song, which was written after their mother Marie died of cancer in 1998 at the age of 51, contains the lyrics: “You were our friend, walk with you till the end, and one day we’ll all sing along, ’cause this is your song.”
Before he began singing, he said: “I shouldn’t be singing it in these circumstances, but we are and we will.”
Ronan also paid tribute to Ciaran’s children Aisling, Conall and Ruairi, telling them they had made their father “very proud”.
He was a great man and I am honoured to call him my dad— Conall Keating
“As a parent all you want to do is raise your children as best you can, Ciaran and Annemarie have done a spectacular job,” he said.
“Three incredible human beings.
“Your strength over the last few days has been so incredible, and you’ve made your dad very proud.”
Ruairi described his father as “a hard-working man who never missed a day’s work”, and said “there wasn’t anything he couldn’t do”.
“He was to us, a leader, a rock, our hero.
“We were all together for a special moment in my football career winning a League (of Ireland) title, and all the kids and grandkids were there in attendance,” he told mourners, who applauded.
Members of Cork City FC, which Ruairi plays for, and representatives of the Marie Keating Foundation cancer charity, set up by the family after Marie’s death, were among the mourners present.
Ciaran’s father Gerry praised his son’s dedication to the charity, stating that “he’d never say no, he never complained about anything”.
“If there was a driver short anywhere, Ciaran would drop everything in Mayo and prepare to drive the unit for the foundation,” he said.
He also spoke about Ciaran’s childhood, his time playing football in his teenage years, and his love for his wife Annemarie.
When he became emotional at one point, Ronan came to the altar to console his father.
“On the Saturday (that Ciaran died) I was waiting for the text or the message,” Gerry said.
“I got the message at quarter past eight, I got the bad news, and it was the worst news I got in my life.”
Ciaran’s son Conall, who gave the eulogy, said that Marie Keating was watching over them.
“My dad gave his most difficult speech 25 years ago when he spoke about his beloved mother, and now I must give the most difficult speech about my beloved dad,” he said.
“He has been taken from us far too soon. Our lives have been changed forever and our hearts are broken.”
Outlining the greatness of their loss, Conall spoke of the plans the family had for the future with their father, and said their hearts were broken by his death.
“The kids deserve to have him in their life much, much longer, and he was looking forward to that,” he said.
“We wanted to go to an F1 with him, I wanted him to show me how to build a deck, Ruairi asked him to be best man at his wedding because he was his best friend, and he had so much golf left to play.
“This is not what we expected, we are all heartbroken.
“He was a great man and I am honoured to call him my dad.
“He will be remembered forever and carried with us for the rest of our lives.”
A person who was so full of life and humour and fun and energy, energy for living is gone from us— Martin Long, parish priest
Parish priest Father Martin Long said that a single rose laid on Ciaran’s coffin was from a rose bush he had planted with Annemarie on the birth of their first grandchild.
“A symbol of love that was shared. A love that lives forever. A love that we believe reflects even a greater love beyond our comprehension. And love that we cannot ever fully put into words,” he said.
“Maybe we do it best when we say it with a single rose.”
He also extended the community’s sympathy to the family at the “void” left by Ciaran’s death.
“Today we are struggling to make sense of an accident that has suddenly taken Ciaran from his wife Annemarie, from you, his family and friends,” he said.
“Today as a community, we offer our sympathy, we offer our prayers.
“But we know that for now and for a long time to come they won’t really ease your pain.
“A person who was so full of life and humour and fun and energy, energy for living is gone from us.
“And there is now a void, an emptiness that only pain and tears seem to fill.”
A tanker, a golf club, a Leeds United jersey, a barbecue spatula and a family picture were among the items brought to the altar to signify Ciaran’s life.
Members of the family were embraced by mourners on the grounds of the church after the funeral ended, and walked behind the hearse as it drove through the small town.
In attendance at the funeral were Boyzone’s Keith Duffy and former Irish rugby player Shane Byrne.
Ronan Keating rose to prominence during the 1990s as a member of Irish boyband Boyzone, alongside fellow members Keith Duffy, Mikey Graham, Shane Lynch and the late Stephen Gately.
