Is trua liom a rá go bhfuil scéal truamhéalach tagaithe chugainn faoi bhás an Tiarna Easpag Kevin McNamara agus go bhfuil socruithe go gcuirfí isteach ar imeachtaí an lae chun ráiteas cuí a dhéanamh.
Death of Archbishop Kevin McNamara: Expression of Sympathy.
The Members of the House will have learnt with deep regret of the death today of his Grace Most Reverend Dr. Kevin McNamara, Archbishop of Dublin and Primate of Ireland. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.
Dr. McNamara, who was a native of Clare, was Archbishop of Dublin for over two years and had been Bishop of Kerry for the previous eight years. As Archbishop of the largest diocese in Ireland, Dr. McNamara had a particularly onerous task which he performed with great courage and fortitude notwithstanding his ill health in recent years.
He was dedicated to upholding traditional Catholic values and his sincerity of purpose won him universal respect in Ireland and abroad. His sense of duty and dedication to his flock whether in Kerry or Dublin was greatly respected and appreciated.
I ask you, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle, in the name of Dáil Éireann, to convey to the Papal Nuncio, His Excellency, the Most Reverend Dr. Gaetano Alibrandi, to the Most Reverend Dr. Joseph A. Carroll, Auxiliary Bishop of Dublin, to the clergy and people of the Archdiocese and to Dr. McNamara's family, an expression of our profound sympathy in their great loss.
Thar mo cheann féin agus thar ceann mo pháirtí ba mhaith liom mo chomhbhrón a chur in iúl do ghaolta an Dr. McNamara, do chléir Ard-deoise Bhaile Átha Cliath agus dá mhuintir uilig ar ócáid a bháis.
His Grace, the Most Reverend Dr. McNamara, was a man of great sincerity and courage. He was a man who was totally dedicated to the service of his God, his Church and his flock and a man who had a great fund of charity within him which allowed him always to be extremely warm with his flock and even with those who disagreed with him. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
I wish to join with the Taoiseach and Deputy Dukes in expressing my sincere regret and that of my party at the untimely death of Most Reverend Dr. Kevin McNamara. The Archbishop of Dublin was a man of great scholarship and learning and he fearlessly pursued his job as spiritual leader of the country's largest Catholic diocese. More recently, he bore his illness with great fortitude and in a way that was an inspiration and a comfort to many people. I wish to express my condolences with the Archbishop's family and with the auxiliary bishops, the priests and people of the Archdiocese of Dublin.
I would like to send my condolences and those of the Labour Party to the family of Archbishop Kevin McNamara on the occasion of their sad bereavement. During the years he was in Kerry I knew Archbishop McNamara as a man of compassion and kindness. His warm pastoral concern was well known and was one of the features which made him very popular with the members of his flock. They, too, will mourn his passing. After his appointment as Archbishop of Dublin I had less occasion to have contact with him but on each occasion that I met him I was impressed by his courtesy and by the concern for ordinary people which he always displayed. I know he worked in a quiet and self-effacing way to help individuals and families in distress. All will agree that he displayed great fortitude during his painful and debilitating illness and I am sure the nation will mourn his departure.
Ba mhaith liomsa comhbhrón a dhéanamh chomh maith. It was with regret that I learned of the death of Archbishop Kevin McNamara. He was a man whom I had known and respected for many years and I wish to join with the other Deputies in extending sympathy to his family and to his colleagues.
Members rose in their places.