It is always a sad occasion when statements of this kind have to be made in this House and it is particularly the case when the person whose death we are mourning was such a distinguished Member. I would like to begin by extending, on behalf of the Labour Party, our deepest sympathy to Phyllis Corish and to all the other members of the Corish family.
Brendan Corish will always be remembered within these walls as one who devoted nearly 40 years of his life to his work in the Dáil. He will be remembered, too, as one whose grace and courtesy distinguished every contribution he made and as a man who left this House with many friends and not a single enemy. For us in the Labour Party there is a special sadness because, above all things, Brendan Corish was the central unifying figure in the Labour Party. From the moment he became leader of the party in 1960 until the day he retired as leader in 1977 he was the unchallenged leader of the Labour Party. Indeed, even on the day he retired it was clear he still retained the full confidence of his party from top to bottom. Brendan inspired that confidence because in many ways he did more than just represent the Labour Party. In many ways he was the very embodiment of the values and principles which had bound that party together throughout its long and turbulent history. It was possible to look at Brendan Corish and to see the principles of equality and justice in action every day of his life.
It has been said of Brendan Corish that he was a man without personal ambition and that is true. He was a man with absolutely no interest in the trappings of office but he had a fierce and burning ambition to end injustice in our society, to win the freedom of working people from exploitation, and perhaps above all to bring people in from the margins of society. Brendan Corish believed there was room in Ireland for every one of its sons and daughters, and more than room. He believed in the inalienable right of every citizen to shelter, education, health and human dignity. Because he believed in these things, he knew that the Labour Party he inherited had to be built into a radical and cohesive force for change. Therefore, he set about the task of building that party into the most exciting political force of the Ireland of the sixties, a party with the will to fight for change and the capacity to appeal across a broad spectrum of opinion. The extent to which he succeeded can be seen in many ways in the Ireland of today. The values for which Brendan Corish stood in the 1960s and 1970s were by no means universally accepted throughout the political system but those values are the ones which politicians ignore at their peril today.
The health system to which Brendan Corish dedicated himself in the seventies is the same health system which the people of Ireland as a whole came out to defend in the last general election.
In other ways, too, the legacy of Brendan Corish continues to exert major influence. Under his leadership the Labour Party led the way in ending any ambiguity about violence on our island. The only way to progress, in Brendan Corish's view, was through dialogue and he led by example in this area, building up contracts and friendships on all sides of the political and sectarian divide in efforts to find ways towards peace in our island. Those efforts paved the way in many respects for the Sunningdale Agreement and Brendan Corish's role in securing that agreement has never been adequately recognised or praised. I know he considered it to be one of the most important achievements of a long career and I know the pain he suffered when he watched the violence continue and the hatred remain entrenched.
There were things that Brendan Corish hated as well. He hated hypocrisy, selfishness and injustice but he loved people. He saw the best expression for his socialism in a passion for people, for their rights, their dignity and their freedom. Above all, perhaps, he loved the people of Wexford. He was never happier than when he was serving them or even just moving among them.
I spoke earlier of sadness and yet yesterday in Wexford there was an air almost of celebration. It was caused, I feel, by the feeling that Brendan Corish was free of pain at last. More than that, it was caused by the feeling that Brendan Corish will continue to walk among us for many years to come. For as long as we value justice and equality, for as long as we struggle for peace on our island, for as long as we seek the new Republic that Brendan Corish spoke of 20 years ago, the name and the spirit of Brendan Corish will continue to move us. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
