Hugh Wallace 'lived deeply and left his mark unmistakably' mourners hear during funeral

""For the last 10 years, since beginning with the series Home of the Year, television viewers were delighted to welcome Hugh into their living rooms. His endearing and gregarious nature, his good humour and optimism, and the fact that he was always so unassuming meant that we all thought he had been on our screens for far longer than he had," he said."

""A home is where love abides, and everyone who knew Hugh knows that his true home was found in his life with Martin in shared work, shared laughter, shared dreams and shared courage. Their new home held so much in store for them, yet the love that filled those plans does not vanish with death," Rev Morton added."

""Hugh, of course, was known to many through his work on television, knowledgeable, forthright, unafraid to speak plainly and never short of conviction, he understood buildings, but more than that, he understood people.""

Hugh Wallace, a television star, died suddenly at home aged 68 and had planned to move into a new house with his husband, Martin Corbett, this weekend. A funeral mass was held at a packed St Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin with attendees including presenters Dermot Bannon and Brendan Courtney. Judy Garland's "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" was played at the start of the mass. The Very Reverend William Morton described him as honest, direct, passionate, challenging and deeply human and said he had shaped the spaces in which others live. Wallace was known for his role on Home of the Year, his characteristic voice, large spectacles and colourful shirts, and for understanding buildings and people. He was also baptised at the cathedral.

Read at Irish Independent