Hugh Wallace ‘left his mark unmistakably’, funeral hears amid tearful scenes as husband & celeb pals honour RTE icon

Mourners heard how Hugh and his partner Martin had been due to move into their new home together this weekend
HUGH Wallace “lived fully, lived deeply and left his mark unmistakably”, his funeral heard today.

The beloved Home of the Year judge, 68 — renowned for his trademark big specs and colourful shirts — passed away at home on Monday.

His tragic passing happened just after he’d attended a charity ball with his husband Martin Corbett last weekend, and where the RTE icon was snapped looking happy and healthy while mixing with pals.

Mourners packed out St Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin this morning as the funeral began with one of Hugh’s favourite songs, Judy Garland’s Somewhere Over The Rainbow.

Speaking at the service, Reverend William Morton told how Hugh spent his life shaping places for others.

He said: “Hugh was honest, direct, passionate, challenging and deeply human. He lived fully, he lived deeply, he left his mark unmistakably.”

And praising Hugh’s “endearing and gregarious nature” and his “good humour and optimism”, he described the talented architect as a “natural” on TV screens across Ireland.

Reverend Morton continued: “He was, as we say, a natural, with his characteristic voice, his large spectacles, colourful shirts and jumpers.

“We gather today in sorrow, but also with deep gratitude to give thanks for Hugh’s life.

“A man who quite literally shaped the spaces in which others live their lives. 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, how they live, how they hope, how they dream and how they contend fiercely for what they believe in.”

Hugh’s friend John Waters paid an emotional tribute during the service, admitting that it was “way too soon” to be speaking about the renowned architect in the third person.

He said: “You all probably know that Hugh Wallace had very strong words to say all the time, and that he always offered those words, whether asked to or not.

“So if you would bear with me, Hugh is going to tell you a story, his story, and I’m just going to be the mouthpiece for that story, so it’ll be Hugh you’ll be hearing.”

‘SUDDEN EXIT’

Speaking on behalf of Hugh, pal John shared the following: “I’m afraid I went, I was taken by complete surprise.

“I had assumed, I didn’t think I’d get a sudden exit, I had assumed a more flamboyant exit.

“In years to come, after much more TV success, and perhaps a couple of BAFTA awards, because the rumors were there, things were going so well.

“Douglas Wallace consultants were flying, my TV career was flying, and furniture was coming for the house that Martin and I had been working on for three years, and we were to move in this weekend.”

Continuing to address mourners as Hugh, John told how the star met his beloved partner Martin at the George Pub in Dublin on Valentine’s Night of 1988 – and the pair haven’t separated since.

LONG-LASTING LOVE

He said: “We lasted together for 37 years, which I’d take again if I could. Martin never really bought into the celebrity stuff. Martin loved me for me.

“He became my civil partner in 2012 and he stuck with me to the end, right up until Sunday night.

“We really did travel the world together and meet very interesting people. But behind the celebrity and the public persona, Martin and I were really two ordinary guys. We had the same hopes, fears, dreams, and wants.”

John said Hugh’s parents “did a wonderful job” raising the only child after he was born in 1956.

He continued: “I always knew I was going to have a career in architecture and design. And in 1982 I met a kindred spirit, Alan Douglas. And by the end of 1982, in the face of a biting recession, we set up Douglas Wallace Architects from our rented flat in Black Rock.”

John told how Douglas Wallace Architects became “the darling of Irish retail design” during a time in Ireland when design was gaining traction, when shoppers were looking for a “wow factor” in the experience.

He said: “It was a mad busy time. There was ups, there was downs. There was tears, there was laughter. There was building of lifetime friendships.”

DREAM ARCHITECT JOB

John said the 90s brought bigger projects and great design ideas, with Douglas Wallace Architects boasting offices in London, Belfast and Prague.

He said: “And we lived the life. For Christmas parties, we took the staff to Venice and Toledo. And I’m pleased to say that what happened in Toledo has definitely stayed there and is sealed.

“We were doing hotels with designers and hotels with visionaries. And we were doing works abroad. We did shopping centres for the Emirati. We were doing it. They say we worked with sages, gurus, masters, mistresses.

“If it was going on in Dublin in design or in Ireland in design, Douglas Wallace was a part of it. And then came 2008 and we all fell over the cliff.

“And they say you can’t keep a good man or good men or good people down.

“And from the ashes of Douglas Wallace Mark I, out of the ashes came Douglas Wallace Consultants, a new gang of tightly knit directors, of which I am pleased to say I was still part.

“We were older and we were wiser. We had learned. And we definitely didn’t have a travel budget for Venice or Toledo.”

‘LUCKY BREAK’

John described how Hugh got a “real lucky break” when it came to TV programmes.

He said: “It was such a shock to me that that came at that age, but I really embraced it as you all know.

“I loved it. And I’m chuffed to bits with the feedback that I got in terms of the knowledge that I was able to share and in terms of my presentation skills. Reference to the BAFTAs again, but there you go. I won’t be there for that.

“And I firmly believe that knowledge is something that should be shared. And I was privileged to do that in the way I did.”

John asked mourners to give Martin a “shoulder to lean on if he needs it”, adding: “Be kind to each other.”

And quoting William Shakespeare, he said: “Let us all remember that a pop of colour will brighten your day.”