AceShowbiz - Bob Geldof fought back tears as he delivered a moving speech at his father's funeral on Tuesday, August 31. The veteran rocker's dad, Bob, Snr., passed away at a hospital in Ireland last week at the age of 96 after a short illness.

Geldof was joined by family and friends as he said his goodbyes during a ceremony at St Joseph's Church in Dublin. He gave a touching speech remembering his father and paid tribute to his sisters, who spent time tending to their dad in his final days. The star told mourners, "I'm afraid I can't say the same about myself. I was away all the time and I really didn't want to know about that, selfishly I suppose."

Geldof admits his father saw death as an opportunity to be reunited with his wife, Bob's mother Eve, who died when the singer was just seven. He added, "He'd often say 'When will I be allowed to go?' He was absolutely safe in the knowledge that he was going to meet the tower of exuberance of his life - my mum."

Peaches Geldof also attended the ceremony, along with her sisters, and paid tribute to her grandfather on her Twitter.com page. In a post, she writes, "I'm in Ireland at my Grandpa Bob's funeral. He was a sweet man. RIP."