Paul Coghlan was today remembered as a gentleman, a loving husband, father and grandfather and a very proud Kerryman who worked long and hard for his family, his town, his county and his country.
The former long-serving senator, councillor, two-time Mayor of Killarney and businessman passed away last Thursday, at the age of 79, after a long battle with ill health.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and several members of the cabinet, current and former councillors and friends and acquaintances from all over the country attended the removal service on Sunday evening and in attendance at the Requiem Mass in St Mary’s Cathedral this Monday were Col Stephen Howard, Aide de Camp to President Michael D Higgins, Comdt Claire Mortimer Aide de Camp to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.
Also present were several of Paul’s former colleagues in Seanad Éireann, Kerry County Council and Killarney Municipal District Council.
Guards of honour were provided by the Mayor and elected members of Killarney Municipal District Council, Killarney Chamber of Tourism and Commerce, the Fine Gael party, Muckross House Trustees and Killarney Golf and Fishing Club.
Principal celebrant, Killarney Parish Administrator, Fr Kieran O’Brien, noted that Paul died on the Feast of Corpus Christi, exactly two years to the day that he took ill.
“Today we mourn his death but we also celebrate his life; a life well lived, a life lived to the full and we give thanks to God for all the blessings He gave Paul and the blessing that Paul was to us in our lives,” he said.
Fr O’Brien said Paul will be remembered for the great banter he loved to engage in and for his wonderful sense of humour but he was also a man of great faith and praying the Angelus and reciting the Rosary were part of his family life, no matter where they were or who they were with.
“So much has been said over the last few days about Paul’s public life but he was like a magnet with people – you were drawn to his company.
“Paul gave this town and county great service and promoted them in so many ways,” said the celebrant who gave a synopsis of Paul’s political and community life, including his 22 years in Leinster House.
“The secret to Paul’s success was hard work and his ability to get on with everyone. There was no political divide with Paul – if it can be done, let’s do it together. For him, public service was for the good of all, not for the individual, not for the political party,” said Fr O’Brien.
The congregation heard that politics was Paul’s vocation and the day was planned around the news programmes so that he was up to speed and he knew all the facts.
“Paul lived the life that he wanted. Regretfully, it wasn’t longer and that he didn’t have a better quality in last two years, especially after working so hard and for so long but he had so much more to do and give,” said Fr O’Brien who was joined on the altar by Bishop Emeritus Dr Bill Murphy, Fr Dan O’Riordan, Fr Tom Looney, Fr Seán Hanafin, Fr Billy, OFM and Fr Paddy O’Donoghue.
“Today we pray that God will lead Paul home to Heaven… a place that doesn’t involve any election and it doesn’t involve any canvassing to get there. We know that Paul Coghlan did his best for everybody – may he now reap his rewards,” the celebrant concluded.
Recalling his father’s life and times at the close of the Mass, his son Michael told how Paul was born on 20th June 1944 , the son of Michael and Peggy Coghlan of Ross Road, Killarney.
As his father worked with the then provincial bank, it necessitated two moves for the family, initially to Kilkenny and then to Abbeyfeale where Paul completed his primary school education.
They returned to Killarney in 1957 when his father was appointed manager of the local provincial bank, then adjacent to the town hall.
Paul attended St Brendan’s College in Killarney for one year before becoming a boarder in De La Salle in Waterford where he first encountered his lifelong friends Colm Foley, Dr Bill Mangan and Pat Moynihan, the latter becoming the best man at his wedding.
Following in his father’s footsteps, Paul joined the staff of the provincial bank after completing his Leaving Certificate in 1963, having secured the highest marks in the Institute of Bankers’ examinations.
He was working with the bank in Cork when he returned home to Killarney for a Christmas party, held in the bank house on Main Street, and it was there he first met his wife, Peggy O’Shea.
They were married in April 1970 in Merchant’s Quay in Dublin. Although Paul was a well-travelled man, his intense dislike of flying meant that his trips had to be taken by car, rail or boat and the one and only time in his life that he boarded an aeroplane was on his honeymoon to Spain.
Michael said that apart from family, politics was the other real love in Paul’s life and the trigger than initially generated his interest was when, in his early 20s, he read and was impressed by Declan Costello’s policy paper, Towards a Just Society, and he was also a great admirer of Garret FitzGerald.
Paul went on to enjoy a long and distinguished career in local and national politics, serving on Killarney Urban District Council and Kerry County Council before turning his attention, very successfully, to Seanad Éireann, retaining his seat from 1997 to 2020.
Michael said the political highlights of his father’s career were when he was appointed chief whip and, later, Leas Cathaoirleach of the Seanad but he was particularly proud to serve as Mayor of Killarney on two occasions.
“Dad was a great man to bring people together and was a master of the art of compromise. He took a special interest in the British-Irish relationship and loved his many trips north and to the United Kingdom as a member of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly and his time on the Oireachtas Committee on the implantation of the Good Friday Agreement,” Michael said.
He added that, at a personal level, his father was very proud of the development of Muckross House and Gardens and Killarney House and Gardens as a tourism product for Killarney over the years.
“Outside of politics dad, was a great contributor to all that was local and good for Killarney and participated in many organisations,” Michael said.
“His ethos was always to strive for the betterment of Killarney and Kerry and his can-do, positive attitude was infectious and always led to fulfillment of the goals he set himself,” Michael said.
A former president of Killarney Chamber of Tourism and Commerce, Paul was the longest-serving trustee of Muckross House since 1977 and he was a former captain, president and director of Killarney Golf and Fishing Club.
Michael also recalled his father as “a real social animal” who loved nothing better than meeting up with friends for a drink, some food and great banter.
At the close of Mass, beautifully enhanced by the voice of Killarney singer Grace Foley, Paul Coghlan made one final journey through the streets of the town he served so well as the funeral cortege wound its way to Aghadoe Lawn Cemetery where he was laid to rest overlooking the town to which he devoted his life.
Killarney has bid a final fond farewell to a man who walked the corridors of power, who mingled with royalty, Hollywood stars and political superpowers but who never forgot where he came from and was at his happiest and most comfortable when chatting with friends and neighbours sharing a lighthearted moment in his trademark jovial manner.
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