The life of my late friend and colleague Cliff O’Donnell would have made a fantastic miniseries on Netflix.

He was born into a mixed marriage just after the war, when disregarding the edict of both churches could have had disastrous consequences.

Having served his time in Clongowes College, he followed his father into insurance, a gentlemanly pursuit at the time — but when his father sold the business, he was head-hunted to go to another establishment, law firm Guest Lane Williams.

Before getting stuck in, he and his great friend Barry Galvin took off on motor bikes across North Africa.

Clifford was a passionate perfectionist and loved a challenge.

He was one of the last, if not the last, private citizen to hold a commercial flying license and was also a master yachtsman who was meticulously careful and precise.

He trained generations of pilots and was very happy to share his knowledge with all and sundry.

His family had a fishing cabin on Lough Mask, and he loved fishing and shooting, which in later years was limited to a running battle with the rabbits eating his carrots at the end of his garden in Oysterhaven.

Cliff had a very active mind and was good at looking at things laterally.

He devised an extremely popular Irish solution to an Irish problem. Before divorce was permitted here, he had an arrangement with a travel agent in Miami who did a good deal on a two-week holiday in the Dominican Republic.

The loved-up couple would go via Miami to the Dominican Republic, where one or both would get divorced.

They would both then fulfil the two-week residency requirement sitting by the pool, which entitled them to tie the knot on the beach before returning home with their new spouse and their new suntan.

The fiercely impressive-looking, official court-sealed divorce was completely binding and effective in the Dominican Republic — but was, he had to admit, maybe just a little bit dubious over here.

However, you would be surprised how many people took comfort from the sense of legitimacy and commitment that this piece of paper gave them, which was perfectly valid in very many countries, if a little bit premature here.

Cliff was hugely respected as a family lawyer and brought the same attention to detail, honesty and decency to bear on his working life.

He married Sheila and they have lived an impeccably decent, generous, and loyal life, raising two happy and successful children.

Clifford had been quite ill for some time and will be sorely missed.

As a mark of respect, our offices will remain closed for the ceremony today.

• Kevin O’Donoghue is a partner in O’Donoghue & Associates Solicitors. A condolence book for Cliff O’Donnell is open on rip.ie.