Acclaimed actor Brendan Gleeson joined mourners at St Catherine's Church in Dublin to honour Oscar-winning actress Brenda Fricker who died last month aged 8114:49, 06 Aug 2026Updated 14:49, 06 Aug 2026Mourners, including acclaimed actor Brendan Gleeson, lined the streets of Dublin to honour Oscar winning actress Brenda Fricker as her funeral got underway.‌The actress died aged 81 last month. She was the first Irish woman to win an acting Academy Award, taking best supporting actress for her role as Daniel Day-Lewis' mother in My Left Foot.‌She was also only the fourth Irish person to win an award, after George Bernard Shaw won a screenwriting award for Pygmalion in 1938, Barry Fitzgerald won best supporting actor in 1944 for Going My Way and Josie MacAvin for production design in 1985 for Out of Africa.‌Since her win, several other Irish stars have gone on to win Oscars, including Glen Hansard, who also died recently. He won the award for best original song in 2007 for 'Falling Slowly', a song from Once.The Banshees of Inisherin star Brendan was one of many mourners that turned out in Dublin to say goodbye to Brenda who died on 16 July. The funeral started at 11am on 6 August, when her coffin, draped in the flag of Dublin, was taken to St Catherine's Church. President Catherine Connolly was represented by her aide Captain Brian Clarke.‌Outside the gates of the church, children had taped up pictures they'd drawn of Brenda when she played the Pigeon Lady in Home Alone 2. A tribute from local poet Sarah Conway was also added, which read: "Today I want to take this moment to remember out dear Brenda Fricker, our movie star, who we lost recently."You were loved dearly from near and a far, from My Left Foot to the Christmas specials Home Alone, your memories will forever live on and just keep on growing."The priest delivering the funeral service, Eoin Thynne, added that Brenda "lived a life full to the brim" and that she would have wanted "no tears, no sadness, no fuss" today.‌He added: "This is not a day for sorrow. This is a day of celebration. The celebration of a true legend who touched the lives of so many and left us with many, many wonderful memories.”Brenda's friend Liz Duffy added that she would have wanted "smiles and laughter" as she was "out of her pain and misery". After her death, it was revealed that she had suffered a "period of ill health".‌As well as being in My Left Foot and Home Alone 2, Brenda was in the original cast of BBC medical drama Casualty. She played Megan Roach from 1986 to 1990 and reprised the role three times, in 1998, 2007 and 2010.Her agent, Phil Belfield, described her as a "legend" when announcing her death. He said: “Dublin-born and bred, Brenda Fricker undoubtedly deserves the noun legend.Article continues below“We will never see her like again and the world is lesser for the lack of her. I was honoured to know, love and work with her, and she will always have a place in my heart and in the heart of so many film and TV fans the world over.”Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.