The writer Edna O’Brien’s “revolutionary intervention in Irish literature” was honored during her funeral mass, which was also attended by President Michael D. Higgins.

Family and friends of the late novelist gave readings and paid tribute to her during a service at St. Joseph’s Church in her hometown of Tuamgraney, County Clare on Saturday.

O’Brien, a novelist, short story writer, memoirist, poet and playwright, died last month at the age of 93 after a long illness.

Also attending the funeral mass were Independent MP Michael McNamara from Clare and Commander Claire Mortimer, representing Taoiseach Simon Harris and Tánaiste Micheál Martin.

The President and Sabina Higgins attend the funeral of Edna O’Brien in Tuamgraney, Co Clare this morning. The President’s statement following Edna’s death can be read at https://t.co/UUfpbBK75N. pic.twitter.com/24UDNRUjea

— President of Ireland (@PresidentIRL) 10 August 2024

Higgins was accompanied by his wife Sabina Coyne, who appeared very emotional throughout the service.

During the symbolic procession, family members and friends laid down items that had meaning to O’Brien.

Her grandson Oscar presented the Irish author with the French Legion of Honour, which also included being named a Dame de Honour and the Torques des Saoi, the highest honour that can be awarded by Aosdana, an Irish association of distinguished artists, in recognition of her “life of extraordinary achievement”.

Flowers from the garden of her parents’ home, Drewsborough House, were also offered.

Other items included a Buddha statue given to her by her niece to symbolize that O’Brien was a “deeply spiritual woman whose curiosity and open heart led her to many faiths throughout her life,” including Buddhism.

Her Irish literary inspirations were acknowledged by one friend who carried a copy of James Joyce’s Ulysses, while another presented a portrait of the late author Samuel Beckett, a friend of O’Brien’s.

Her son, Marcus Gebler, told mourners that the intention of his mother’s writings was to “enlighten, inspire and encourage” those who found it difficult to express their opinions.

He said: “Over the last week I have been moved and overwhelmed by the sympathy and affection shown for our Mother by so many different people in so many countries.

“For many authors, their first book is also their best, and they never quite do justice to that initial, curated essence of their own life.

“But in our mother’s case, her development as a writer was a continuous arc, stretching from the lives of young women in Ireland in the 1940s, through age, experience and suffering, to Bosnia in the 1990s or Nigeria in 2014.”

Of the purpose of her letter, he added: “I believe it was and will remain her case to educate, inspire, encourage and speak for the silenced.”

Gebler also read a poem he had written for his mother and received much applause.

He became emotional as he concluded by recalling what a doctor told him after the birth of his son Oscar: “The most important thing you can do is give him as much love as you can, always, and that’s what she gave us.”

O’Brien’s friend, Scottish novelist Andrew O’Hagan, paid tribute to her legacy and said she had changed the perception of Irish women writers.

He said: “We have heard a lot over the last two weeks about Edna’s revolutionary intervention in Irish literature, about her opening of the novel to the truths of desire and the intricacies of inner femininity.

“But as we honor her now, we must remember the difficult path she had to take even among her heroes.

“‘Men are ruled by intellectual lines,’ wrote James Joyce, ‘women by emotional curves.'”

“But Edna made it her mission to both embody and defy that idea on the international stage, connecting the intellectual with the sensual, linking the emotional with the reflective, and raising the bar on shared experiences and heritage, our pride in our values.”

O’Hagan spoke of “how funny” she was, saying, “Her comedic engine was always running, even or especially in the midst of fear – the comedic engine, along with those other great turbines of creativity, outrage and ambition.”

“But at the heart of it all was a talent so unique that nothing could destroy it, not age, not illness, not lack of stamina.

“She lived in her prose like no other writer I have ever known. Her gifts were both solid and ethereal, like the fairies in her favorite play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

“And yet they were deeply rooted in the history and back roads of Ireland, which was forever the landscape of their imagination, the nucleus of their writing and their soul.”

Songs played during the service included the hymn “The Lord’s my Shepherd,” the traditional Irish song “Danny Boy,” and a rendition of “An Irish Blessing” to conclude the service.

O’Brien’s remains were transferred to St. Joseph’s Church for a state of rest on Friday and after the funeral service she will be buried on Holy Island.

The author became known primarily for her portrayal of women’s lives against the backdrop of the repressive expectations of Irish society.

Her first novel, The Country Girls, was published in 1960 and was part of a trilogy that was banned in Ireland because of its allusions to sex and social issues.

O’Brien, who had lived in London since 1958, described the outraged reaction of the Irish people in contrast to the international success of the book.