Many of us will find it hard to accept that Frank Cluskey will never rise in his place in this Chamber again. All of us have memories of the interventions he made here in the past, where he would stand, usually without a note or a file, and while on his feet dominate the Chamber by the power of his personality and strength of his passionate, political convictions. Frank Cluskey derived those convictions from two things: first, they came from his background as a representative of working men and women, when he experienced at first hand the injustices and inequality against which he fought all his life. Second, they came from his contact with, and admiration for, Jim Larkin. Although he did not do so in any conscious way, he was to model his life and his career on the message of Larkin. He was at his most passionate whenever he was confronted, in Larkin's phrase with the deep gap between what ought to be and what is, and he was at his most determined whenever he set out to close that gap.
Few Members of this House will ever leave behind a more impressive array of monuments to their memory than Frank Cluskey. His legislative reforms in the seventies, the new social welfare schemes he developed, the radical concepts he introduced, will all stand as testimony to his care and concern for the dispossesed and disadvantaged in our society. His innovative and radical action in relation to the PMPA in the eighties and his principled stand in the case of Dublin Gas, now a publicly owned company, demonstrate his commitment to the rights of Irish citizens and, in particular, to their right of control over their own natural resources.
He left other more important monuments behind too. His principal monument will stand forever in the hearts of people he represented, the people he stood for. There is many a home in this city, and indeed throughout the country, where the name of Frank Cluskey will always be mentioned with affection and respect. They are not, by and large, the homes of the rich, they are the homes of many who will have suffered neglect, discrimination and disadvantage were it not for the things that Frank Cluskey stood for, and the things that Frank Cluskey did.
In the Labour Party, we will remember Frank for the way in which he united the party when he was our leader. We will remember him for the wise advice he always offered, both to the party as a whole and to any individual member who needed help and advice. We will remember him for his strength in times of personal grief, for his humour and warmth in the face of complex situations, and for his deep sense of principle. Those who met him during his last illness will never forget his courage and his strength. He dealt with pain — and there was a great deal — by shrugging it off and interesting himself instead in the problems of the world around him. Indeed, I believe it was a source of pride for Frank that the last time he was able to vote in this House, his vote was instrumental in saving the National Social Services Board.
Of course, he will always be remembered in this House as one of the more formidable people ever to grace our benches. Frank could use all the skills of the actor to get his message across, and he frequently did. Every trick from the characteristic hunch of his shoulders to the rapier-like Dublin wit, was used with devastating effect. Most Members of the Dáil have their own stories of that wit, and many of them too, have their own stories of the individual kindness and concern that Frank showed them when they needed it.
Frank Cluskey was laid to rest this morning in Dublin, surrounded by the family and friends whom he loved and who loved him. He lies on the hillside in Sutton, with a clear view of Dublin Bay and of his city. It seems entirely appropriate that the spot should be picked because Frank was essentially a Dubliner, a man who loved his city and its people, who was prepared to struggle for them all his life and who will always be remembered by them.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
