Dermot O'Neill was remembered as "an inspiration" and a "tremendous gardener and horticulturalist" who leaves behind an incredible legacy, his funeral mass heard today.
The RTE star's funeral mass took place this morning as the congregation gathered in the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour in Foxrock. Mr O'Neill's funeral was attended by his family, friends, former work colleagues such as former RTE presenter Thelma Mansfield, radio and television presenter Brenda Donohoe and many more.
Mr O'Neill, 58, passed away in the care of staff at St Vincent's University Hospital in Blackrock July 1 with his family at his side. He was previously diagnosed with stomach cancer in 2009.
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His funeral mass was officiated by Fr Kieran Dunne, with music on the uillean pipes by Eamon Walsh. Speaking during the mass, Fr Dunne described Dermot O'Neill as a "tremendous gardener and horticulturalist."
Speaking during the mass, Dermot O'Neill's sister Carol said that today was a profoundly sad day for them all. She said: "Louise and I are so devastated by Dermot's sudden passing, it still doesn't feel real. However, we want today to a shared celebration of Dermot's life."
"Louise and I have reflected on the many wonderful experiences that we shared with Dermot both together and separately. He really was a very special person and meant so much to so many."
Carol said that their lives were "so much richer and fulfilled" having Dermot as their big big brother. She also said that the family has overwhelmed by the good wishes and condolences from people across Ireland.
"Reading these messages has been so comforting to us both and we would like to thank everyone for their kind messages, thoughts, wishes and memory. Dermot would have been so touched," she added.
"Dermot has been described time and again as a gentle, kind soul, a true gentleman, soft-spoken, generous to a fault, an inspiration. And even to some a genius.
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"To us, Dermot was an inspiration. He encouraged our curiosity, he was independent with a passion for everything he was interested in. He was interested in a multitude of things, he taught us so much and we are going to miss him terribly."
Carol told how her brother taught them to love plants, and how he fit so much into his 58 years of life. She said that he leaves behind an "incredible legacy" and how he will be missed by all.
Reflecting on their childhoods growing up with Dermot, Carol explained that their summers were most fun as their parents had a great sense of adventure and how the family travelled throughout Ireland and Europe. "On many of these trips due to Dermot's interest in horticulture, we visited many state gardens such as Glenveagh, and Versaille to name but a few."
Carol recalled how Dermot was "very entrepreneurial" when he was a teenager, setting up his own small business where he would lovingly grow and care for plants before selling them door to door alongside his sisters and friends.
Carol said: "Dermot's career was amazingly diverse, he was a gardener, a horticulturalist, a tv and radio broadcaster, a writer, a published author, a magazine editor, a garden mentor, a lecturer, and shop owner. And personally, separate to his career, he was a son, a brother, a friend, an opera singer, a panto performer, a classical music aficionado, a wine buff, a movie and a history buff.
"He had a great interest in the structure and function of the brain and he was always learning, continuously reading and researching. He had also developed a great interest in meditation and told Louise and I last week that he had found calm and great solace in practicing meditation," she added.
Carol recalled how Dermot's love of plants bloomed from the encouragement of his maternal grandmother when he was a young boy. His first summer job was under the mentorship of esteemed gardener Barney Johnson at Marlfield Garden Centre in Cabinteely, and Dermot would later go on to study horticulture at UCD.
In 1982, Dermot began to appear on RTE children’s programmes, and he went on to present gardening segments on the station’s afternoon shows, Open House and Live at 3 and was a regular contributor on the Pat Kenny and Derek Mooney’s radio shows.
In the 1990s, he presented the Garden Show with Finola Reid and Helen Dillon and in 2008, he was the first presenter and mentor of Super Garden, the television gardening series in which amateur gardeners compete to showcase their garden at the Bloom festival.
He also wrote several gardening books including Roses Revealed (2007), Discover Gardening (2004), Dermot Gardens (2003) and Creative Gardening with Dermot O’Neill (1990). According to his sister Carol, her brother was delighted to learn that a new variety of the Magnolia plant would be named after him- the Magnolia campbellii Dermot O'Neill in his honour.
Dermot O’Neill is survived by his sisters, Carol and Louise, nieces, nephews, grandnephew, uncles, aunts and cousins. He was predeceased by his father, Peter O’Neill and mother, Maura O’Neill (née Hall).
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