Family, associates and Charlie’s loyal companion, Tiger, gathered at Dublin’s Mansion House to have fun the life and occasions of legendary broadcaster
Hundreds of individuals gathered on the Round Room of the Mansion House in Dublin at this time to pay their respects to the veteran RTÉ journalist who died of Motor Neurone Disease on Monday.
Charlie’s eldest daughter Orla mentioned she and her sister Neasa grew up with a dad who had a unprecedented profession.
“It’s almost impossible to know where family life ended and career started because it was such a big part of all of our lives. The news was a permanent fixture in our home, so the two are closely intertwined,” she mentioned, remembering days when the telephone would ring in any respect hours of the day or evening and Charlie would throw some stuff in a bag and run out the door, and they might solely know the place he was when his face would seem afterward the tv.
She additionally remembered the weekly Sunday walks that had been a “non-negotiable family activity” that carried on a lot to their horror into their teenage years, and the household holidays with Charlie and their mom, the place they’d pack the automobile and head to France and arrive at a campsite.
“We would happily watch-on as dad sweated and muttered swear words under his breath as he tried to pitch the tent, until finally he’d blow his top, causing much amusement for us all. It would end with an aperitif in hand eating our favourite tinned ravioli, and somehow we always ended up sleeping safely in that tent,” she defined.
“As we grew into teenagers, we started to spread our own wings. We both went to art college. We travelled on J1s to the States and Dad would always write letters in his barely legible hieroglyphics that would take us a couple of re-reads to actually make any sense of. He’d always put in a couple of quid and tell us not to spend it all in the same shop. And he signed it off always by telling us to ‘keep smiling’.
Charlie Bird’s wife Claire Mould and their dog Tiger arriving for his memorial service at the Mansion House, Dublin. Photo: Mark Condren
Orla also told of her and Neasa being very careful if they were bringing a boy home, or drop a name of one into a conversation, because their dad would raise an eyebrow and steal a glance in their direction.
“You just made sure you were seriously interested in someone before you brought them home. On one occasion, after a Debs when I arrived with a particularly handsome date, the key barely entered into the door and dad appeared with his wide eyes saying everything that needed to be said as he immediately showed our guest to the front sitting room of our house to sleep on a sofa that was overlooked directly from a balcony that led to our parent’s room,” she mentioned to laughter from these gathered.
Neasa Bird made everybody curious by saying that Orla’s Debs date is now a well-known Hollywood star, however saved everybody guessing by not revealing his identify.
Neasa mentioned that her father’s motor neurone illness analysis was his “worst concern realised” and mentioned he was “devastated and afraid”.
“Watching Dad grappling with that was heart-breaking, and as we frankly admitted to him on multiple event, all of the tougher for the very public approach he selected to take care of it.
“But that was Dad’s approach, and as a lot as we would have wished to retreat with him to a extra personal area in the previous couple of years, the tenacity of spirit and the perseverance which noticed Dad obtain a lot meant that he was at all times going to do it his approach.
RTÉ journalist George Lee (right) was among the mourners at Charlie Bird’s memorial service. Photo: Collins
“In doing so, he inspired and gave solace to countless others, and that is no small thing. Rather, it is a very great thing.”
She said on the day before he died, Bird “painstakingly typed out a final message” about courage and a fear that his courage would falter.
“But Dad’s courage did not falter because his courage, his amazing bravery and, ultimately, his legacy is the way that he showed us all that it is okay to despair.
“It is okay to be afraid. It is human to be angry when dealt with a hand like MND. It is okay because as he also showed us after all of that, or more accurately in the midst of all of that, there is still purpose, there is still joy, and there is still hope.”
Charlie’s spouse Claire Mould started to ship her recollections of him when their canine Tiger began to whimper, so she introduced him to the rostrum too.
She mentioned she was “heartbroken” at his demise and that it was an “absolute privilege” to take care of her husband throughout his sickness.
“What made me fall in love with Bird was his zest for all times. There was by no means a uninteresting second once you had been with him.
“He at all times beloved being the centre of consideration, beloved all of the craic. He travelled the world, at all times on the lookout for adventures, and we had so many.
“I like you Bird, I’m going to overlook you a lot,” she mentioned, earlier than taking part in a poignant video with a montage of clips from his life at home and in his fundraising endeavours, overlaid to the tune ‘I’ll See You In My Dreams’ by Bruce Springsteen.
Charlie Bird’s funeral takes place in Dublin
Former RTÉ correspondent Joe O’Brien informed the service that his buddy had his personal “dynamic style of reporting”.
“Audiences grew to admire and respect the clarity and forcefulness of this delivery. When I think of Charlie, I think of his boundless energy and his nose for news,” he mentioned.
“He had great people skills. He was witty and cheeky and he was also honest and forthright. But Charlie was brave beyond words: Charlie revelled in the excitement of factfinding and live broadcasting and in his secret hush-hush meetings along the border.
“But what I treasure most is our daily coffee and our strolls around the Donnybrook campus. We had many a relaxed Friday night drink when he talked about family, world affairs, his passion for Irish politics and his fascination with the internal politics of RTÉ,” he mentioned.
Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces, Lt General Seán Clancy, mentioned he actually bought to know Charlie and Claire within the lead-up to his Climb With Charlie occasion to the summit of Croagh Patrick in Co Mayo two years in the past.
“In that period, I came to know Charlie, what he stood for, his values, his resilience, his fortitude, his determination and his overwhelming loyalty to his family, to Claire, to his daughters, to his grandchildren, to so many of his friends.
“It was in this timeframe also, of course, that Charlie chose to support certain charities by selflessly dedicating the remaining years of his life, utilising those extraordinary journalistic skills that he had, but more importantly, his ability to build relationships. And of course, we all know by his extension of his hand of friendship to everybody.”
“The catalyst and the centre of gravity for Climb With Charlie was, of course, the man himself. And its impact, I have no doubt, will transcend time and will live with all of us in our memory and in our hearts, because that day was simply special. But what strikes me most about that extraordinary time and the last few years is that despite the fact that Charlie had lost his voice I don’t think he was ever more heard,” he added.
“His hand of friendship reached deep into the psyche of the nation. At a time of great void, a time of great vulnerability, a time of great need, a time of Covid-19, and that was a time we’re all very grateful for.”
The coffin of Charlie Bird (Brian Lawless/PA)
“It was a privilege for us all to know Charlie Bird, in particular in the latter part of his life when he gave us his camera to look deep into his world through an MND lens, a world is that it was a privilege to be let into even if for a brief moment,” he said.
Fr Charlie McDonnell was parish priest in Westport when Climb With Charlie took place, and he blessed Charlie’s wicker coffin, and mentioned not solely did Charlie climb the mountain, however he introduced the nation with him.
“He brought the country with him on his climb, not just of that mountain, but of the mountain he was climbing in his own life. A mountain towards death. He did it his way, and his way came at a price to him and those close to him. And yet in his giving, he never gave up,” he added.
Other audio system included former RTÉ journalist and presenter Sean O’Rourke, who highlighted the totally different information tales that Charlie coated at home and overseas; Stardust campaigner Antoinette Keegan who thanked Charlie for supporting their trigger for 43 years and for his fixed help; and LGBT rights activist Karl Hayden.
Charlie Bird’s beloved dog Tiger began to whimper when Claire Mould spoke about her late husband during his memorial service. Photo: Mark Condren
Series Editor of TV News in RTÉ, Dympna Moroney, and former Chief News Editor Ray Burke also spoke of working with Charlie, and the challenges it would sometimes present.
Ms Moroney told one tale of working on one project with him when suddenly he got a call from a contact and he had to leave her to go and meet this man in a dark car park in town.
“He locked me in the car and ran off saying ‘if I’m not again in 20 minutes, first ring the newsroom, then ring the Guards’. Despite all of the bickering we by no means fell out, and on the finish of the day he’d simply say ‘Come here, give me a hug, and let’s transfer on’,”.
Symbols of Charlie’s life offered by his grandchildren had been a set of rosary beads given to him by singer Daniel O’Donnell, the workers he used when he climbed Croagh Patrick, a Bruce Springsteen guide and a hand-painted postcard by RTÉ colleague Joe Duffy, two biographies of his life, and {a photograph} of him along with his grandchildren.
His favorite Bruce Springsteen tune, ‘Land of Hope and Dreams’, was performed earlier than singer and musician Kevin Conneff sang The Parting Glass.
A framed picture, as well as the stick Charlie Bird used climbing Croagh Patrick, are brought to his memorial service at the Mansion House, Dublin. Photo: Mark Condren
RTE presenter Miriam O’Callaghan was among the many mourners (Brian Lawless/PA).
