Margaret Mary Ward, 87, known as Maggie, was the head of a vast Irish Catholic clan.

It is thought she and her late husband Charles had one of the largest families in Britain with 15 children, 172 grandchildren, 36 great grandchildren and 18 great-great grandchildren.

Her funeral was the first time that all 172 grandchildren had got together and they each released a balloon - one from each grandchild.

Maggie's daughter Anne Hudson paid tribute to her mum and told how she never forgot a birthday and every member of her family got a gift at Christmas.

She said: "Mum was fantastic in every way. She was so devoted - she was there for everyone. Whenever you were in trouble you knew you could go to mum.

"She would never forget a birthday and got everyone a present at Christmas. She bought presents all year round - she would go to markets to get gifts so she could afford something for everyone.

"She was tough but she had to be to keep us all in line. She was very proud of her family.

"My mother came from a family of nine and my father a family of 14 - we have a history of huge families. I only have three children myself but some of my brothers and sisters have 10, 11 or even more."

Mrs Hudson added: "The funeral was the biggest ever gathering of the family since my father died 28 years ago. But this time there were far more offspring.

"We had relatives from Manchester, Salford, Birmingham and Ireland attending the funeral."

More than 400 people attended St Sebastian's RC Church in Salford for the service.

X Factor star Shayne Ward - a distant relative - was among those who went to the internment at Agecroft Cemetery. Mrs Ward lived in Harrison Street in Lower Broughton.

She moved to Salford in 1963 from Galway, Ireland and lived in Winton, Eccles, after the death of her husband, before moving back to Lower Broughton.

At the funeral her hearse, draped in the Irish flag, was pulled by two grey horses and followed by 11 funeral cars.

At her funeral, conducted by Father Liam Houlihan, readings were given by her eldest grandchild, Margaret Furey, 51, and her youngest, 11-year-old Laura Ward.

Mrs Hudson said: "The best bit of advice my mother gave me was (lsquo)Always live for today because you never know what tomorrow will bring'.

Three of Mrs Ward's children have died - Charlie, Marty and Pat. She is survived by 12 others.

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