The beautiful and moving homily read by Father Pat Malone at the funeral of Anthony Foley

“My first, and I believe my longest lasting memory of Anthony is, and will be, as a family man. His family meant all to him.”

Munster and Ireland rugby stars from the past and present were amongst the many mourners in Killaloe on Friday afternoon for the funeral of Anthony Foley, who sadly passed away at the age of 42 last weekend. The remains of the Munster head coach, who died of a pulmonary edema in the team hotel in Paris last Saturday night, were flown home to Shannon Airport on Wednesday and lay in repose at St. Flannan’s Church in his hometown of Killaloe on Thursday before the funeral mass at 12noon today. In his homily, Father Pat Malone, paid tribute to “a family man” who “made many a mark in his 42 short years of life”. “Just look around and see; the indelible, warm, affirming marks he left on family, friends, colleagues, sports fans, this local community, rugby wherever it is spoken of – to name but a few,” Father Malone added. Before finishing with a final prayer, Father Malone comforted Foley’s wife Olive and two sons, Tony and Dan, saying: “Be assured of our prayers and good wishes for you all on that journey. Today, as we commend Anthony to the care of God, we ask that he may sleep that sleep of peace in God’s presence. I am fairly certain God could do with a top-class Number 8.” You can read Fr. Malone’s homily in full below. My first words and thoughts today go to you Olive, to Tony, Dan, Sheila, Brendan, Rosie and Orla; and they are simple words we use at funerals when we don’t know what to say.   “I am sorry for your trouble”.  These words say it all today. Sorry to see you in such shock and pain.  Sorry to hear, as you expressed it yourselves in your very moving family statement earlier in the week, that “we have been plunged deep into an incomprehensible darkness and sense of loss”. Sorry to hear that Anthony has died. We gather to be with you today to share your grief and we hope that our presence today and the presence of so many people from all over Ireland and, indeed, from way further afield is a comfort and a support to you at this very difficult time. We hope that our prayers, good wishes and genuine love for you all over the weeks and months ahead will bring you comfort and help ease your pain. Olive, you have asked that we remember Anthony here this afternoon in prayer. We thank you for the beautiful, dignified and simple choices you and those who assisted you have made for this Mass. We know that as a woman of deep personal faith, our praying together today is very important to you and I am very pleased to give you and all of us that space where we can continue that great Christian tradition of praying for the dead in the assurance of faith and the belief that what we engage in here today is that ceremony of the handing over of our loved one in the company of the angels to the care of our God. It is fitting that we celebrate with dignity the life and achievements of a man who lived life with great dignity and personal and professional integrity. There have been many beautiful and moving tributes paid to Anthony from so many people over the past week and I am certain that many more will come in the time ahead. How can one be so bold as to speak of the life of another on a day like this? I believe it is only words spoken from the well of experience of the person that allows one to engage in such a task, and so I will share fa few reflections of the man I know myself. I have been privileged to have you as my neighbours and I have tasted the hospitality, care and concern of your neighbourliness. My first, and I believe my longest lasting, memory of Anthony is and will be as a family man. His family meant all to him. Olive, you were his true love, and how good ye were together.  One could sense the strength of your relationship, the warmth of your love for each other, and the ways you supported each other through the easy as well as the difficult moments of life. Ye complimented each other so well, Ying and Yang in perfect balance with each other. As parents together, ye were second to none. My memories of Anthony as a loving, caring and interested Dad, revolve around the magical family moments in the garden. Anthony pucking a sliothar with his lads, kicking a football, swinging a golf club and erecting a trampoline. I could see he enjoyed the different temperament of his two boys, and with the wonderful sports brain he had, he was silently assessing their temperament for future sporting engagement. I remember him when the excitement of the hens’ arrival was the flavour in family life, him searching with his boys for the eggs that were laid. The excitement when they were found was shared and young Tony would look over the fence and invite all to the breakfast. These happy, cherished moments will hopefully in time offer many moments of pleasure to Tony and Dan. Brendan Foley, I can honestly say, is one of nature’s gentlemen. I can see some of you saying to yourselves ‘that guy knows nothing of rugby’. Brendan, you and Shelia handed to your son a deep sense of being loved, valued and cared for, he has handed it on to his sons and, please God, having known that love themselves, they too, in time, will  hand it on to their children.  A treasured gift that truly enriches lives. What touched me most in all the statements I heard or read about Anthony in the past week is the amount of care he offered to so, so many different people. He had that great human capacity to sense or notice those who were struggling in one way or another and the ability to reach out to them and include them in a sensitive and caring way. That outreach made all the difference to these people. He offered people hope when they felt hopeless, confidence when they were deflated and simply wished them on when they were unable to do it themselves. In this way, he lived his Christianity in the real world and loudly gave witness to the message of Jesus - “do unto others as you would like done onto you”. In your family statement issued during the week, you said of Anthony, and I quote, “he was a central, go-to figure for the wider Foley and Hogan families”.  He was that surely and so much more. From what we heard people giving personal witness to, he was also a ‘go-for’ and a ‘go-with’ person. His presence was reassuring, his ability to care, his sheer support, his sense of camaraderie, made all the difference and, to borrow from another famous football anthem: knowing Anthony’s presence, you knew ‘You never walk alone’. There is a lovely story, the Parable of the Pencil. I love it and often use it to encourage young people as they set out on their journey in life. The message to the pencil is to make your mark. Anthony ‘Axel’ Foley made many a mark in his 42 short years of life. Just look around and see; the indelible, warm, affirming marks he left on family, friends, colleagues, sports fans, this local community, rugby wherever it is spoken of – to name but a few.  Olive may the benchmark of his love be the ray of light that dispels the incomprehensible darkness you speak of in the family statement, a darkness “that we must work our way through over the coming, days, weeks and years”. Be assured of our prayers and good wishes for you all on that journey. Today, as we commend Anthony to the care of God, we ask that he may sleep that sleep of peace in God’s presence. I am fairly certain God could do with a top-class Number 8. Our prayer for you Olive, Brendan, Shelia and your families and, indeed, for the extended family is¨ May the warmth of the love you had for each other act as a blanket to wrap around you May it be warm enough to keep away the chill of loneliness Soft enough to soothe you Strong enough to support you And may your beloved Anthony, rest in peace in the loving embrace of God