The funeral has taken place in County Clare of the poet and philosopher John O'Donohue who died suddenly on January 3rd. Dr O'Donohue, who lived in west Galway, was 53 and a bestselling international author.
His best-known work, Anamchara, which reached the bestseller lists shortly after its publication in 1997, had to be reprinted 13 times in 12 months.
He also wrote Divine Beauty, Echoes of Memory, Conamara Blues and most recently, Benedictus: A Book of Blessings.
Dr O'Donohue died suddenly in his sleep while on holiday near Avignon in France.
A graduate of Maynooth, where he studied for the priesthood, he held degrees in philosophy and English literature and was awarded a PhD in philosophical theology from the University of Tubingen in 1990.
His doctoral dissertation consisted of a re-interpretation of the philosophy of Hegel.
He had ministered in a number of parishes in north Clare and Galway city before resigning from church ministry to concentrate on his writing.
Before his death, he had been working on a post-doctoral dissertation on the 13th-century mystic and philosopher, Meister Eckhart.
Dr O'Donohue had also worked as a speaker at business courses on issues such as leadership and creativity.
A fluent Irish speaker, he became heavily involved with the Burren Action Group which campaigned against plans to build a tourist interpretative centre in Mullaghmore, Co Clare.
His funeral Mass took place in Fanore Church and he was interred at Craggagh.
A Memorial Service is to be held on February 2nd in Galway Cathedral and in response to many requests, memorials are also to be organised in North America and Britain, where his writings were widely-read.
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