The passing of Pat Joe Reynolds on 27 December last was a source of much regret within the Fine Gael family. Our sadness was nothing compared to the great loss felt by his wife Tess, their sons Gerry and Peter, their daughters Ita and Regina, their spouses and their families. His brother, Kevin, and sister, Mary, will also miss Pat Joe who was known as a man always devoted to his own.
One could say the Reynolds family lived the political life of this nation from 1927 when Pat Joe's late father, Paddy, was elected to the Sixth Dáil where he and his contemporaries pursued the arduous, post-Civil War journey towards constitutionalism, begun earlier by Griffith and Collins. A number of political families have done this State some service but, perhaps, none more so than the Reynolds family who, between 1927 and 2002, had 75 years of unbroken service to the Oireachtas.
Pat Joe's late father, Paddy, was elected to the Dáil in 1927. Following his death in 1932, his wife, Mary, took over his seat and held it for another 29 years. Pat Joe, in turn, succeeded his mother in 1961. From then until 1987, Pat Joe represented the people of Leitrim and Roscommon with passion and courage, whether in the Dáil or the Seanad. His son, Gerry, was elected to the Dáil in 1987, holding his seat with the characteristic Reynolds honour until 2002.
Pat Joe Reynolds held a number of key posts in his long and distinguished political career. At local level, he was the longest-serving member of Leitrim County Council, representing his community from 1942 to 1985. His son, Gerry, still represents his people on the council. He was chairman of the council from 1967 to 1979 and was noted for the diligence he applied to that office. At national level, Pat Joe served as Parliamentary Secretary, now known as Minister of State, to the then Ministers for Local Government and Posts and Telegraphs. As Cathaoirleach of the Seanad from 1983 to 1987, he addressed both Houses of the Oireachtas on the visit of President Reagan in 1984. He thanked the President for the work he had done for and on behalf of Ireland, especially in promoting peace on the island.
Some 20 years on, I know that Pat Joe was happy that peace had been achieved and that the Border counties would benefit from its dividend. For those who never knew or met Pat Joe Reynolds, he was a great man for a story and a joke. He lived for and loved his community, never forgetting his origins or his friends. He had a rootedness with his people who knew they could always rely on him to press their case at the highest levels.
Pat Joe was a great humanitarian, a man with a deeply seated social conscience which could be seen in his work for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. He was also a man of deep and considerable faith and I know his meeting with Pope John Paul left a lasting impression on him.
It was as a family man, husband, father and grandfather that Pat Joe truly excelled, where he had most impact and, consequently, where he will be most missed. I know that he watched closely over the political career of his son, Gerry. I think there will be general agreement that an apprenticeship served under Pat Joe was time well spent. I know that Pat Joe instilled in his family the Fine Gael ideal that he took from his father and mother. The democratic ideal that as politicians we are servants of the people, that we are in politics to do their work, to voice their concerns and to make their lives better, is the ideal with which Fine Gael founded this State, the same ideal by which we pursue and live our political lives today.
Pat Joe Reynolds served his county and his country judiciously and honestly. For now, there is little to be said except to wish Pat Joe, as he wished President Reagan here in this House, God speed. I visited Pat Joe in the nursing home in Ballinamore some months ago. He sat on a chair at the end of the bed and reflected upon the ups and downs of his political career. He said: "Times were not easy when I started out and through all the changes in the political sphere, I always tried to do my best and to help those who came to me in any way that I could." That is not a bad political philosophy for any public representative at any time.
In the next phase of his life, Pat Joe Reynolds might find wisdom in the words of his fellow-countyman, John McGahern:
Anything that is given can at once be taken away. We have to learn to expect anything and when it comes it's no more than a gift on loan.
Tá ré Pat Joe Reynolds thart. Rinne sé a dhícheall an t-am ar fad ar son a mhuintire féin agus dóibh siúd i gContae Liatroma agus Contae Ros Comáin a bhí ag déileáil leis. Tá súil agamsa, ar son a pháirtí agus ar son Thithe an Oireachtais, gur ar dheis láimh Dé a bheidh sé go síoraí.
