Longford mourners say farewell to political giant Louis J Belton

At 11am last Thursday morning the bells of St Dominic's knelled as the congregation gathered for the funeral mass of Louis J Belton.

The church was a familiar location for the former Fine Gael TD. Louis's sister would later quip how her sibling had attended thousands of funerals at St Dominic's.

Fr Thomas Barden oversaw the ceremony in the packed modern church, political representatives of all hues among those who gathered to say farewell to the genial Kenagh man.

Concelebrating the ceremony were Fr Charles Healy and Fr Damien Shannon. The floral arrangement at the altar brought flecks of colour to an otherwise dark day, a fitting symbolism of the colour Louis brought into the lives of those who knew him.

His family occupied the seats near the coffin, all the pews filled, other mourners spilling out through the atrium into the rain outside.

Commandant Claire Mortimer, aide-de camp to An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, represented our country's political leader, while Minister Simon Coveney, Senators Micheál Carrigy and Joe Reilly, Deputy Joe Flaherty and former TD Gerry Reynolds were among those in attendance.

The period of reposing in Our Lady's Manor Nursing Home Edgeworthstown the previous day brought thousands pay their respects to Louis. The funeral saw the people he had served for many years again turn out to pass condolences on to the family and Louis' partner, Anita.

Singer Tony Moran's contribution to the ceremony was one the departed would have enjoyed, for Louis' love of music was something the congregation were appraised of.

Caption: The coffin of the late Louis J Belton on its final journey following Funeral Mass at St Dominic's Church Kenagh Picture: Declan Gilmore

Fr Barden addressed the funeral mass goers: “Life has changed greatly in Ireland in the last 80 years since Louis came into the world,” he commenced.

“Today we come to remember our own mortality,” the priest reminded the gathering, entreating them to “keep an eye on God and each other” a philosophy the reverend father said Louis had lived by.

Fr Barden said the former TD was “a man of faith, and unashamedly so”. The priest sketched a picture of Louis as he moved from school to work life. The call of politics was strong, as “it was in his blood”. He quoted an observation by party colleague, Gerry Reynolds, who said of Louis: “He was more of a social worker than a politician.”

“He was close to the ordinary person,” Fr Barden said, “he could talk to anybody and everybody. He remained close to his family all his life. He missed Liam and Paddy greatly.”

Louis' relationship with Anita Kelly, described as a feisty character, brought him many years of happiness as “they both saw the lighter side of life”.

His love of his home place was another facet of Louis' life that was impressed on the mourners. Attending GAA matches, soccer matches or the reminiscences of playing rugby were all used to emphasise his great passion for sport.

That deep regard for both Kenagh and sport was manifest in the fact he attended the recent intermediate final despite his serious illness.

Louis sartorial elegance, which won him the accolade of best dressed man in the Dáil, was also touched on by Fr Barden.

Fr Barden concluded by saying: “He done little harm and done a lot of good. Now he is at peace and rest.”

Louis' sister, Maureen, gave an intimate portrait of her brother. Through stories of their childhood she gave the gathering a glimpse into their early life: “When we were children this was our playground, this was The Ramparts, it was part of the the Earl of Mosstown's estate,” she said gesturing to the surroundings of St Dominic's, which was built in 1981.

“Louis loved a jest. He made me promise that I would not say anything sad,” she informed the congregation.

Maureen recalled her brother as “a big presence” illustrated how he honed his negotiating skills early in life when deciding who would play as Roy Rogers, who would be allocated Trigger and even how to convince a parent attending the picture show was a good idea.

Maureen spoke of her sibling's love of music and nature. She said the remaining leaves on the beech trees that survived the recent storm were something her departed brother would have admired.

The ceremony concluded with thanks to those from Kenagh GAA and the Fine Gael party who had formed guards of honour for Louis' final journey.