TEARS for Anthony 'Axel' Foley gave way to laughter and applause as his widow Olive gave mourners a window into the couple's life.
As hardened heroes of Irish rugby struggled to quell their emotions, the grieving mother eased the pain with an intimate and honest portrait of her soulmate and a doting father.
She recalled her thoughts as she flew to Paris with a plane-load of relatives and friends to bring the rugby great home.
"I'm ashamed to say that I said a prayer on the way over on the plane," she told mourners.
"And I said... please Jesus, let him have shaved."
The sentiment highlighted how the heart-breaking eulogy offered moments of mirth and relief when they were least expected.
The faces of friends, relatives and teammates, gnarled with the sudden grief of the last week, brightened as the two emotions mixed.
The widow talked about her late husband being a man of few words.
"He would've absolutely hated the fuss," she said.
"But he would have been very proud."
Foley was shouldered out of St Flannan's Church in his home town of Killaloe by rugby greats past and present.
Among them were former Irish stars Keith Wood, Peter Clohessy, Mick Galwey and Munster captain Peter O'Mahony – their faces grimacing and cheeks puffing under the strain of losing a teammate and friend.
They were flanked by dozens of the sport's rank and file, former and current Munster players like Paul O'Connell, Ronan O'Gara, Peter Stringer and ex-Irish captain Brian O'Driscoll, as well as current head coach Joe Schmidt.
Others from Shannon joined a huge guard of honour with children from St Anne's Community College in Killaloe and boys from Ballina-Killaloe Rugby Club as Foley was shouldered to his resting place in Relig Nu Cemetery.
Mrs Foley praised the homecoming laid on for her husband, first at Thomond Park in Limerick where a hearse carrying his coffin was greeted by several hundred people on Wednesday night in what had been intended as a small tribute by Shannon Rugby Club.
In Killaloe she recalled the candles that lit the streets.
The funeral Mass began with Foley's remains arriving to the tune of Toreador, the operatic air from Bizet's Carmen, adopted by Munster Rugby for its anthem Stand Up And Fight.
The mother-of-two spoke of their bond and said he surprised her every day, not in what he said but what he did.
"His kindness was subtle," she said.
She added: "Anthony was my true soulmate.
"We were perfect together. And he will never leave my heart."
Mrs Foley vowed to take up parenting where her husband left off and pledged to do all the things he would have shared with their two boys, Tony and Dan.
"I'm going to make sure that our two adorable boys will grow up to be decent, solid men, full of integrity and honesty like their dad," she said.
"From the moment those boys were born Anthony loved and adored them," she said.
Mrs Foley revealed that the final time she spoke to her husband was last Saturday night, the eve of Munster's latest venture in European rugby in Paris.
She said he had called her over and over that day. A habit of his when there was a lull in his day, she said.
"And of course our chat was about the lads," she said.
"It was a lovely conversation. I didn't expect it to be our last.
"The stones along the street know that the last two years have been very stressful for Anthony and Munster," she said.
"He took that job as head coach and he gave it everything, with the same passion that he gave when he put on his jersey and won two Heineken Cups.
"There were very rough days during the last two years.
"But I've no doubt that Anthony is having an old smile down knowing that he gave it everything."
