Kathleen Maher

It was a celebration to be at Kathleen Maher's funeral, not of just one individual's life, but of all these hundreds of people's lives, the people in her community of Ballymun who were led, by her example, her enthusiasm, her energy in the struggle against injustice.

It was a powerful event that celebrated the community because Kathleen was the community - when it won't lie down or submit to the abuse of injustice and contempt.

Kathleen died of a brain tumour - unexpectedly quickly. "These last weeks have been some of the best in our lives," the family said. What an amazing compliment.

And as the local guitar band played on, the people all rose to their feet, quite spontaneously, and applauded Kathleen, her life. They were there because they knew Kathleen - her life had touched their's in someway along the path of struggle for rights of those who are discriminated against.

"Kathleen didn't believe in God. But at 6am last Thursday morning I hope Kathleen got the shock of her life," said Peter McVerry, officiating. Someone pipes up, "Maybe she'll find out that god was a woman".

"If she's up there in heaven she'll already have a young teenage mothers' group going, and she'll be presenting her plan for the regeneration of heaven," he said, and everyone laughed with delight and admiration. They paid respect to her anger and her refusal to compromise with all those who had wanted to keep her outside.

The community, the hundreds of people who knew and worked with Kathleen, whose lives she had touched, came together to celebrate the bit of their life they shared with Kathleen.

The event of her death brought them all together as a community at one in recognising what she and they had done together. We left the "house of the people", the largest meeting place nearby, happy, chatting, laughing still with some of things her family and friends had recalled of her life.

"She would have loved that 'funeral' they said. Maybe the funerals of the ANC were like this as they sung their way through death to break apartheid.

BY ROISIN DE ROSA