Mr Quirke was the owner of Dr Quirkey’s Good Time Emporium, which he set up on O’Connell Street in Dublin in 1976.
The funeral mass held this morning at the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, Foxrock, was attended by his wife, Ann, his daughter, sons, grandchildren, friends, and extended family.
A former Garda, Richard Quirke hit the jackpot with his slot machine, casino, and jukebox business.
Originally from County Tipperary, Mr Quirke passed away peacefully at his home in Cabinteely, Dublin 18, last weekend.
Both of Mr Quirke’s sons have become well-known figures in public life. Wesley Quirke is married to former Miss World Rosanna Davison, while Andy is the creator and star of the TV show Damo and Ivor.
Andy delivered a eulogy for his father this morning, describing him as “mad as a brush and cute as a fox”.
“He came from nothing, worked extremely hard, and was one of the most generous people you could ever meet,” he said.
“Richard grew up in Tipperary with his sisters. He was basically the Dennis the Menace of Tipperary, always pulling pranks on everyone.
“He loved watching western movies, which probably inspired him to climb up on the neighbour’s cottage and put a sack over the chimney to smoke them out.
“After years of terrorising the good people of Tipperary, Richard moved to the big smoke and became a guard.
“He used to say that the garda uniform was great for chatting up the ladies. One day, while walking down the main street in Bray, he pulled over my mum’s sister, Jan.
“He leaned in the window and said, ‘I’ve reason to believe that the car is stolen.’ Any excuse to strike up a conversation.
“Then he asked her out on a date. She agreed, probably under pressure. After the date, Jan brought him back to the family home, and Mum fancied him big time. She loved his cheeky grin. Mum ran over to Jan and said, ‘Do you want him?’ Jan replied, ‘Nah.’
“Mum said, ‘Oh my god, can I have him?’ and Jan said, ‘Yeah, of course.’ I love the fact that Richard didn’t even have a say in the matter; he was just going along for the ride.
“But it was love at first sight. Mum and Dad got married and were madly in love for 55 years,” he added.
Speaking highly of his father, he said his dad worked “extremely hard for everything he had” and never liked wasting anything—such as food, water, and “especially electricity”.
“It was common for him to walk into a room and start flicking off all the lights while we were still there. He would say, ‘My initials are RMQ, not ESB.’
“Dad was a very frugal man, but he was incredibly generous to others. The truth is, 80pc of the good deeds he did for family, friends, and even strangers, most people never even knew about,” he said.
Meditation was also mentioned as a significant part of the businessman’s life, with Mr Quirke meditating twice a day, every single day, for 40 years.
Andy noted that his dad had built meditation centres for people 30 years before mindfulness became a trend and helped to introduce meditation into prisons across the country to assist those in need.
Andy added that his father’s piece of advice to him not too long ago was that his daily habits would dictate his whole life and that if he wanted his life to fall into place, he just had to meditate.
“Thanks, Dad. Love you, and don’t worry, I’ll look after Mum—my buddy, my pal,” he concluded.
