ARLINGTON, Va., Nov. 9 (UPI) — Irish-born screen icon Maureen O’Hara was buried with her late husband Monday in Virginia’s Arlington National Cemetery, following a funeral Mass at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church near Washington, D.C.
The Quiet Man and Miracle on 34th Street star died on Oct. 24 at her home in Boise, Idaho, where she had lived for many years. She was 95.
The Irish Times quoted Irish priest Father Gerald Weymes as praising O’Hara’s extraordinary talent and larger-than-life personality.
“Maureen was also witty, humorous, beautiful, compassionate, outgoing, strong-willed, courageous with fiery spirit of the Vikings and the untameable spirit of the Normans with a little smidgin or pinch of eros — all the qualities that one would expect in any Irish colleen,” Weymes told the crowd of about 200 mourners at O’Hara’s funeral. “Not even The Duke in McLintock! was able to tame our fiery heroine.”
The Duke was the nickname of O’Hara’s frequent co-star and close friend John Wayne.
The beloved actress was laid to rest beside her late husband, U.S. Air Force officer and World War II hero, Lt. Col. Charles Blair, who was killed in a plane crash in the Caribbean in 1978. O’Hara reportedly said shortly before she died that she wanted to be buried with her husband.
Singer Catherine O’Connell sang “The Isle of Innisfree” from The Quiet Man at O’Hara’s graveside and the Shannon Rovers Pipe Band played several songs throughout the services.
Among O’Hara’s many film classics were Jamaica Inn, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, How Green Was My Valley, The Spanish Main, Rio Grande and Against All Flags.
The actress was presented with an honorary Oscar for her body of work in 2014. She served as the grand marshall of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in New York City in 1999.
