Seanad Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 8 Nov 1995

Vol. 145 No. 3

Death of Deputy Neil Blaney: Expression of Sympathy.

An Cathaoirleach

It is with a sense of loss and sadness that we pay tribute to the late Deputy Neil T. Blaney. Representing Donegal North-East since 1948 when he won the by-election caused by the death of his father, Neil was affectionately known as the father of Leinster House. In his political career Neil's organisational ability was quickly recognised. We are all familiar with his ministerial achievements and his success on the European front. I will not expand on his political achievements as I am sure other speakers with elaborate on the many successes in his long political career.

Neil Blaney had a deep commitment to a united Ireland and it is fitting that one of his last political appearances was at the Forum for Peace and Reconciliation. Noted for his freedom of spirit and independence of thought and belief, his adherence to those principles saw him grace the Independent benches from November 1971. His in-depth knowledge of the procedures of the House and his wry sense of humour meant he was always a force with which to be reckoned. When I was a Member of the Dáil I, with many others, on numerous occasions enjoyed his exchanges with the Chair. I will end my tribute by saying there will never be another Neil Blaney. He has gone to join his former colleagues in a different house of representatives. I extend my sincere sympathy to his wife, Eva, and his family. May he rest in peace.

Mr. Manning

Never in my 14 years in either House have we had such a long procession of desolate days when we have been obliged to mark the deaths of colleagues and former colleagues. Today we mourn the passing of Neil Blaney.

Neil Blaney was never a member of this House but he was, as the Cathaoirleach said, the father of Dáil Éireann, where he had 47 years of unbroken service. He was returned successively in the general elections of 1948, 1951, 1954, 1957, 1961, 1965, 1969, 1973, 1977, 1981, two elections in 1982, 1987, 1989 and 1992, fifteen elections in all; well over half the lifetime of our national Parliament. It was a formidable record and one which will not be equalled. Add to that two stints in the European Parliament, 16 years of unbroken service as a Minister and we see what a formidable politician Neil Blaney was. Never again in our lifetime will there be a record of service such as his, but there is more than that.

The Blaney family have had continuous representation in these Houses since 1927; another record which cannot be equalled. In 1927, Neil Blaney senior was elected. He spent five years in this House, from 1938-43, when, in the 1938 election, the only political trick that ever fooled the Blaney family was perpetrated and it was a story which Neil loved to tell. It was never repeated.

These facts only give the outline of the story of Neil Blaney. He was probably the best political organiser the country has ever known. He was tough. He could be ruthless and well we knew it on this side of the House. His views left little room for compromise. He was as hard an opponent as any party could wish, or not wish, to have. He was also an extremely able person.

As a Minister he was energetic, almost driven, in his desire to achieve results. Neil Blaney got things done. He had a bulldozer quality which swept aside any opposition or anything in the way of what he wanted to achieve. He was not a man to brook excuses, not from himself or others. It was probably part of the tragedy of Neil Blaney that so much of his life was spent out of power in the wilderness of Opposition where his talents could not be used to the full.

Like the late Brian Lenihan, Neil Blaney loved the Houses of the Oireachtas. In full flight, he was an extraordinary speaker — powerful, passionate, the words flowing from him in unstoppable torrents. He was a master of procedures and he took great delight in showing the newer Members, and the Independent Members in particular, how to use the procedures of the House and how to use the House to achieve their ends to maximum effect.

As a man, Neil Blaney was thoughtful, generous and humorous. He was the most convivial of men. His friendships spanned all parties. Indeed, there is a chemistry in these Houses which breaks down party barriers and enables strong and deep friendships to be forged across all party divides. Neil Blaney had friends in all parties. Indeed — and this is a memory which I will always cherish — just eight days ago Neil Blaney paid his last visit to Leinster House. Neither House was sitting but there was a small group of us here — Senator Wright, Senator Liam Cosgrave, a couple of Ministers and a few backbenchers from the other House. We got together with him. Most of us knew he had come in to say goodbye. Time was running out for him. He was frail, the voice was hoarse but the spirit was as strong as ever. Stories were told, old friendships were recalled and, I have to say, old enemies were not forgiven. It was a magic hour. I am certainly proud to have been part of that hour and I am proud to have these strong memories of Neil Blaney.

To his wife and family, our profound and deepest sympathy.

Mr. McGowan

I speak of the death of Neil Blaney with a lot of sadness and shock; the House and I have not recovered from the loss of Brian Lenihan last week.

I knew Neil Blaney nearly as well as anybody in public life. I started my political career because of my immense admiration for Neil Blaney. I understood his strong republican stance, coming from a county that has suffered much and was peripheralised by the man-made division of Ireland. Neil Blaney always recognised the injustice that was done to the Border counties, including Donegal, and that was the basis for his strong republican stance. He never accepted that it was natural and normal to divide the country. Nobody on this island welcomed the peace initiative more than Neil Blaney.

Those of us who were close to him admired his courage. The Leader described him as a bulldozer but one must understand where he came from. He could open a door where some of us did not see there was a door to open. In public life an ounce of sincerity is worth a ton of performance and Neil Blaney had that quality. He is an enormous loss to County Donegal and to the country; he is irreplaceable.

My party, Fianna Fáil, could have done more to reconcile the differences between it and Neil Blaney. I worked on many occasions to reconcile those differences. I believe Neil Blaney wished to be part of Fianna Fáil because his father and he put so much into building the party. I regret that he did not finish as a part of Fianna Fáil. I was with him in at least 20 by-elections from Wicklow to Kerry. His dynamism drove the people who were working with him and his sincerity and approach were unequalled by most active party members. Neil Blaney will be a tremendous loss to County Donegal. I cannot see anybody on the horizon who can fill his shoes.

I extend my sympathy to his wife, Eva, his family, brothers and sisters and to all involved in Independent Fianna Fáil. Independent Fianna Fáil was a branch of Fianna Fáil because there was no division on the ground in County Donegal. I served on the local authority with Harry Blaney for 30 years. Neil Blaney never failed to make a major contribution to County Donegal. When he was Minister for Local Government he sanctioned the building of a new bridge between Lifford and Strabane. I regret that some short-sighted person did not even invite him to its opening and his name is not on that bridge which has made a major contribution to the commercial life of the region.

God be good to him; my condolences to his family.

Mr. O'Toole

I extend the condolences of the Independent Group to the wife and family of Neil Blaney. Since the foundation of the State there has been a tradition in these Houses that the national flag flies at half mast from the time a Member dies until his or her burial. Over the last 12 to 13 months we have seen that flag at half mast on six occasions. That is extraordinary and it is an intimation of mortality. What is more worrying for Members on the Independent benches that of the six, three were Independents. I hope that is not a portent of the future.

As I said, this is the sixth occasion on which we have remembered absent colleagues. Neil Blaney was the father of the Dáil. It is a tribute to the man that less than 24 hours ago he telephoned his office to check in with his secretary to see how things were. Doubtless it was also time for him to say goodbye; that was probably the real reason for the call. He had that kind of extraordinary energy right through his career. He was a professional politician, and a professional and committed public representative who was involved to the last.

I will not attempt a revisionist approach to history, such as my colleague has just engaged in. I differed fundamentally with Neil Blaney; many of us on the Independent benches would have differed with him fundamentally on many of the things he did.

He sanctioned the bridge to Valencia Island, for which we in County Kerry will always be thankful. When he built the Ballymun complex it was accepted at the time as being an extraordinary achievement. Nowadays people can look back with the benefit of hindsight and see things differently. However, he was somebody who got things done. This will be a tribute to him. He was dogged and resolute, but also committed, and that commitment always shone through. It is right that this should be recorded.

He loved County Donegal but he also loved Europe. He never tired of telling us of his experiences in the European Parliament and talking about the Members he met, including Signor Paninni, in the technical rainbow group, of which he was part. It showed that he had the potential to have a much broader impact than in County Donegal alone. Indeed, he often made the point that people were different in County Donegal in that they had only four miles of a border with the rest of the country, whereas they had a border of 100 miles or more with the North. His sense of perspective never left him, but it was very subjective, reflected in his comment on an episode in history that he never left Fianna Fáil — but that Fianna Fáil left him.

We had many dealings with him in the Independent Group for technical reasons, as with the Independent Deputies in Dáil Éireann. This was always a challenge as he was always one step ahead. He had us allocated somewhere, whether it was in respect of representation here, there or the other place. He had always made the extra telephone call before he came to talk to us and had some contact with a Minister before we came to decision making.

This was never so more true than with regard to the recent decisions on representation on the Forum for Peace and Reconciliation. The late Gordon Wilson played a major role — poor Gordon did not know about it — in terms of deciding the representation of the Independent Senators. It is a tribute to Neil Blaney that, ultimately, the Government, which intended to have one representative of all Independents in the name of the late Senator Gordon Wilson, appointed Senator Wilson, a Member from the Independent Senators group and a Member from the Independent Deputies group. We continue to benefit from this.

In the Forum for Peace and Reconciliation it would be fair to say that Neil Blaney was not conciliatory. He was direct and hard hitting and had a point of view which was always challenging and assertive, and sometimes predictable.

He was an indomitable spirit and had an extraordinary energy. He was a man who contributed to public life in a way with which many of us are not perfectly attuned. However, we recognise, congratulate and celebrate his contribution to Irish public life, and extend our condolences to his wife and family.

Mr. Dardis

Unfortunately, it has become far too frequent to mourn the passing of a Member of one of the Houses of the Oireachtas. On this occasion we mourn the passing of a very able, strong and enduring politician.

Neil Blaney stood by his convictions through thick and thin. This probably cost him even higher office than the ministerial offices he graced before the schism — if I might use that term. However, he stood by those convictions and saw them through. These convictions stayed firm in a world that was changing rapidly, and he might have reflected on that. Nevertheless, he held those convictions strongly.

Senator O'Toole spoke about how he behaved at the Forum for Peace and Reconciliation. At the meetings I attended he argued his case forcibly, capably and always leavened it with a sense of humour. There was always a cut of humour behind nearly everything he said. He was an able Member of the European Parliament and an able TD. The Leader spoke about his ability to win so many elections since 1948. That is a remarkable achievement even if he was never to achieve anything else.

On behalf of the Progressive Democrats I extend our sympathy to his wife, his family, his supporters in Donegal and his constituents.

Mr. Maloney

I am saddened that today we are sympathising with the family of Neil Blaney. I was not shocked by his death because I had spent some time with him over recent weeks. I was delighted to call him a friend, to work with him in this House and to accept his advice on numerous occasions since I became a Member of this House about three years ago.

Neil Blaney was the longest serving Member of the Dáil with 47 years' service. His service to this country and to his native Donegal — which he loved dearly — is to be commended. When I visited him about three weeks ago he was approaching his 73rd birthday and we spoke about politics when he won a by-election in Donegal in 1948. My father told me last Sunday night that he and my mother worked for Neil Blaney during that election and some of the stories that were told would make one ask why one stays in politics. Neil operated in an exceptional way. People talked about the Blaney dynasty but he had a way with people — they loved him for what he was. He was exceptionally tough.

We came from two completely different political parties but it made no difference to Neil Blaney. He often wondered what happened to my mother and father that they left Fianna Fáil for Labour. They remained friends, however, and every time I met him the first two people about whom he asked were my parents. It was a sign of the man's character.

My memories of Neil Blaney include listening to him in the Market Square in Letterkenny when I was about 15 years old. He gave a fantastic speech that lasted for about an hour and fifteen minutes. Throughout the speech he was glancing at notes. Afterwards I approached him and asked him for a copy of the speech. He handed it to me; it was a greyhound card from the Lifford racetrack. There was not a word written on it, yet he spoke for an hour and fifteen minutes. That demonstrates the capability of this man. He was one of the finest orators I ever heard.

He had sincerely held views on Northern Ireland and on the attitude of the British and when I saw him recently he had not changed his views. He believed strongly in a united Ireland and never deviated from that. He had a long and distinguished career and there are many monuments to him in Donegal. He will not be easily forgotten. His advice was valuable and I appreciated it. I was privileged to call him a friend and to have worked with him.

I extend my heartfelt sympathy to his wife, Eva, his five sons and two daughters, his brother, Harry, with whom I worked on Donegal County Council and another brother, Teddy, a former member of Letterkenny UDC. Neil Blaney will be sadly missed.

Mr. Sherlock

I join the Leader and Members in paying tribute to the late Neil Blaney. I was elected to the Dáil in June 1981 and I shared an office with him. At that time he was also a Member of the European Parliament and I got an insight into the volume of work he undertook at both European and national level. The people of Donegal were never forgotten.

Later, because there was a hung Dáil, we had an Independent group of which he was the Leader. The intensity with which every issue, every item that came up was dealt was very impressive and showed his great interest in his work. One would have expected that, after a long life in politics and having left his footprints in the sands of time, he would be taking it easy but that was not Neil Blaney. Neil Blaney approached every issue in which he had an interest with the resolute and fearless spirit of an ancient warrior.

Members rose in their places.