There were sorrowful scenes at the funeral of Bill O’Herlihy in Dublin today, which saw hundreds of mourners, including President Michael D Higgins and Bill’s RTE colleagues, turning out to bid him a final farewell.
The 76-year-old passed away suddenly on Monday, causing widespread shock as he had graced the red carpet of the IFTAs just the night before.
His funeral took place at the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour in Foxrock, Dublin this morning, near the legendary broadcaster’s family home.
Among the first to arrive to the service were Bill’s “dysfunctional family, the three amigos”, Eamon Dunphy, Liam Brady and John Giles, as well as James Hickey, CEO of the Irish Film Board, which Bill was Chairman of.
Bill’s Après Match Alter Ego, Risteard Cooper, was amongst mourners, as well as a host of RTE top executives and sports presenters including Marty Morrissey, Ryle Nugent, Peter Collins and Hugh Cahill and broadcasters Miriam O’Callaghan and George Hook, among others.
It was an emotional day for the iconic tv star’s heartbroken wife Hillary and daughters Sally and Jill, as well as his five grandchildren, who he has left behind.
Bill’s funeral comes following the revelation that he had been planning on his big return to tv, following his retirement last year.
The tv veteran was working on fronting a new project for RTÉ One, set to go out as a series, which looked back at seminal sporting memories and his own memories over the years.
The show was being developed by the RTÉ sports department and Bill had returned to Donnybrook just last week for a production meeting.
