Brendan Gleeson was among the mourners at the funeral of Oscar-winning actress Brenda Fricker in Dublin. The service took place at St Catherine's Church on 6 August, with the coffin draped in the flag of Dublin.
A Life Remembered
Fricker died on 16 July at the age of 81. She was the first Irish woman to win an acting Oscar, taking the best supporting actress award for her role as Daniel Day-Lewis's mother in My Left Foot.
She was only the fourth Irish person to win an Academy Award, following George Bernard Shaw (screenwriting for Pygmalion in 1938), Barry Fitzgerald (best supporting actor for Going My Way in 1944), and Josie MacAvin (production design for Out of Africa in 1985). Since then, other Irish stars have won Oscars, including Glen Hansard, who also died recently, winning best original song in 2007 for 'Falling Slowly' from Once.
Funeral Tributes
Hundreds of mourners turned out to pay their respects. President Catherine Connolly was represented by her aide Captain Brian Clarke. Outside the church, children had taped up drawings of Fricker as the Pigeon Lady in Home Alone 2.
A tribute from local poet Sarah Conway read: "Today I want to take this moment to remember our dear Brenda Fricker, our movie star, who we lost recently. You were loved dearly from near and far, from My Left Foot to the Christmas specials Home Alone, your memories will forever live on and just keep on growing."
The priest, Eoin Thynne, said Fricker "lived a life full to the brim" and would have wanted "no tears, no sadness, no fuss" on the day. He added: "This is not a day for sorrow. This is a day of celebration. The celebration of a true legend who touched the lives of so many and left us with many, many wonderful memories."
Her friend Liz Duffy said Fricker would have wanted "smiles and laughter" as she was "out of her pain and misery". After her death, it was revealed she had suffered a "period of ill health".
Career Highlights
Alongside My Left Foot and Home Alone 2, Fricker was in the original cast of BBC medical drama Casualty, playing Megan Roach from 1986 to 1990 and reprising the role in 1998, 2007, and 2010.
Her agent, Phil Belfield, described her as a "legend" when announcing her death, saying: "Dublin-born and bred, Brenda Fricker undoubtedly deserves the noun legend. We will never see her like again and the world is lesser for the lack of her. I was honoured to know, love and work with her, and she will always have a place in my heart and in the heart of so many film and TV fans the world over."
