Thank you, a Cheann Comhairle, for giving me the opportunity to express sympathy on behalf of the Government to the families of three former Members of the House who died during the Christmas recess. The late Phil Burton, a former Fine Gael TD for the old constituencies of Cork North East and Mid-Cork, was a Member of the House from 1961 until 1973 and of the Seanad from 1973 until 1977 when he retired from public life. He joined Cumann na nGael in 1932 and addressed his first public meeting in Tyllylease in the company of the late Dan Vaughan TD. In 1942 he was elected a member of Cork County Council and served as chairman of that body on five separate occasions. He served his community with honour, dedication and ability. From my recollection he was a man who only spoke in this House or elsewhere when he had something to say. He was a man of deep personal conviction which was often hidden by a somewhat gruff exterior. His loss will be felt deeply by his wife and family, his friends and his native county of Cork. On behalf of the Government and the Fine Gael Party, I wish to convey to his wife Eileen, his sons and daughters and to his brother Dan our sincere sympathy on their loss.
Former Deputy Stevie Coughlan was a colourful and, at times, controversial Member of this House. He was sometimes described as the stormy petrel of Irish politics. He joined the newly formed Clann na Pobhlachta in 1947 and was an unsuccessful candidate in the general elections of 1954 and 1957. He joined the Labour Party in 1960 and served as a Member of the Dáil from 1961 until 1977. He served twice as Mayor of Limerick, first in 1950 and again in 1969, and he served on the city council there for 30 years. He was also well known in private business as a bookmaker and he was, for a time, the owner of a licensed premises. Anybody who had the pleasure of seeing, as I did on both occasions that it was shown, the television documentary on Stevie Coughlan's life will have a sense of what a great character he was. What struck me most forcibly — and it was something that struck me also during his time in this House when he was a backbencher in a Government of which I was a member — was that for him, neither party, Government nor popularity came before his commitment to the city of Limerick. He stood for whatever he believed was in the interests of his city and its citizens. On behalf of the Government and my party I wish to offer to his wife Peggy, his sons, daughters and his sisters our sincere sympathy.
Finally, it falls to me to say some words about another Member of this House who has passed away, a man whom I counted among my close friends in political life, although he served on a different side of the House from me, the former Deputy, Phil Brady, who served in this House for 26 years. Indeed, he was elected at an age that many might consider to be an appropriate age for retiring from this House. Notwithstanding that he continued to serve for a full and productive 26 year term as a Member of this House up to the year 1977. He was a former Lord Mayor of the City of Dublin. As Members know, he qualified as a pharmacist in 1917 and his business premises at Kelly's Corner on the South Circular Road is a landmark in Dublin. I suppose that is why he chose that particular location and why his business was so successful. He had a very good sense of positioning in politics and a sense of being in the right place at the right time. He lived a remarkably long life, a life that was very fulfilled and all those who attended his funeral will have a sense not just of the sadness but also of the pleasure that many could draw from recalling such a full life. Indeed, in a recent interview, he referred to his earliest recollections of political matters and it is interesting that the first political event he was able to recall in his life was the controversy surrounding the Boer War, and that is a while ago. What struck me most forcibly about him was his outstanding courtesy, a courtesy which he passed on to all his sons and daughters and, in particular, to his son Gerard who served as a Deputy and a Minister in this House. On behalf of my party and the House I extend sympathy to the Brady family and indeed to the Fianna Fáil Party on its loss as well as to the Labour Party on the loss of Stevie Coughlan. We have lost three good friends of this House and of parliamentary democracy.