State funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of Etiquette, protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive ...

s () in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

have taken place on the following occasions since 1922.

List

State funerals declined and refused

Former

Taoisigh The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legislature) and the office ...

John A. Costello John Aloysius Costello (20 June 1891 – 5 January 1976) was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 1948 to 1951 and from 1954 to 1957, Leader of the Opposition from 1951 to 1954 and from 1957 to 1959, and Attorney General of ...

and

Liam Cosgrave Liam Cosgrave (13 April 1920 – 4 October 2017) was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 1973 to 1977, Leader of Fine Gael from 1965 to 1977, Leader of the Opposition from 1965 to 1973, Minister for External Affairs from ...

did not receive state funerals, at the request of their respective families. Similarly, a 1948 press release at the repatriation by LÉ ''Macha'' of the remains of

W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...

, who had died in France in 1939, stated "The Government was, of course, desirous to accord full State honours in connection with the funeral, but considered it proper to respect the wishes of the poet's relatives." A state funeral was offered after the assassination of UK ambassador

Christopher Ewart-Biggs Christopher Thomas Ewart Ewart-Biggs, (5 August 1921 – 21 July 1976) was the British Ambassador to Ireland, an author and senior Foreign Office liaison officer with MI6. He was killed in 1976 by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) in ...

in 1976; his widow agreed instead to a memorial service. There was minimal official support for the 1970 reburial of men killed in India in the 1920 Connaught Rangers Mutiny. Arguments against a state funeral were that the 1966 Casement funeral not a precedent but rather symbolic of all who died abroad for Ireland; that the mutineers' profile was too low for major recognition; and that it might be seen as endorsing republican paramilitary action in

the Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "i ...

in Northern Ireland. While the government facilitated repatriation of the remains, the ensuing funerals were privately arranged by the

National Graves Association The National Graves Association (NGA; ga, Cumann Uaigheann na Laochra Gael, "Grave Committee of Heroes of the Gaels") is an Irish organisation which seeks to maintain the graves of Irish republicans who died in the pursuit of a united Ireland. I ...

Protocol

Lying in state is only organised for a sitting taoiseach or president. The church service (if

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

) may feature a

Solemn Mass Solemn Mass ( la, missa solemnis) is the full ceremonial form of a Mass, predominantly associated with the Tridentine Mass where it is celebrated by a priest with a deacon and a subdeacon,"The essence of high Mass is not the music but the deacon ...

, usually attended by current and past

presidents President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

taoisigh The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legislature) and the office ...

and senior members of the Irish judiciary. About 300 members of the

Defence Forces The phrase Defence Force(s) (or Defense Force(s) in US English - see spelling differences) is in the title of the armed forces of certain countries and territories. Defence forces * Ambazonia Defence Forces *Artsakh Defence Army * Australian Defen ...

provide a guard of honour, a gun-carriage carries the coffin, which is draped with the tricolour, and Army Buglers play the

Last Post The "Last Post" is either an A or a B♭ bugle call, primarily within British infantry and Australian infantry regiments, or a D or an E♭ cavalry trumpet call in British cavalry and Royal Regiment of Artillery (Royal Horse Artillery and R ...

. There is a gun-salute.

References

Footnotes

Sources

Citations

{{Reflist, 2 +Ireland

State funerals A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements of ...

Funerals in the Republic of Ireland