Mgr Ciaran O’Carroll, rector of the Irish College in Rome and a first cousin of the esteemed broadcaster, admitted to mourners in St Brigid’s Church, Kill, Co Kildare that the news of her death “came as a dreadful shock”.

“Evidently, many of the Western powers have an interest in seeing the violence continue, and their profits are more important than our lives” – Bishop Kientega.