A mourner holds a programme of the funeral mass of Ted Kennedy in Boston yesterday

More than 1,500 people, including US President Barack Obama, filled the Our Lady Of Perpetual Help Basilica in Boston yesterday for the funeral mass of Senator Edward Kennedy.

The mass, presided over by seven priests, 11 pallbearers and 29 honorary pallbearers, featured performances by tenor Plaicdo Domingo and cellist Yo-Yo Ma.

Amongst the mourners were three of Obama's predecessors – Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and George W Bush - as well as 58 senators, 21 former senators and a Supreme Court judge.

Following the service, at which Obama gave the eulogy, Kennedy's body was taken to Washington before being driven to the US Capitol, along the National Mall and into Arlington Cemetery, where he was buried near his two assassinated brothers, John and Robert.