Seanad Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 11 May 1988

Vol. 119 No. 10

Death of Member: Expressions of Sympathy.

Mr. Lanigan

Last week when we heard of the unfortunate death of Jack Daly the House did not have an opportunity to pay an adequate tribute to him. I would like that tribute to be paid today.

Senator Jack Daly died in office. It was a great shock to his family, to his acquaintances and, indeed, it was a tremendous shock to everybody who was in the House on Thursday of last week. On a personal basis, my connection with Jack Daly went back before my political connection because we served on the council of the Society of the Irish Motor Industry together. The society and the Irish motor industry have lost one of their greatest battlers. Jack never pulled punches at meetings of the society. Neither did he pull punches when he confronted Ministers on behalf of the motor trade. Last week the current edition of the magazine of the Society of the Irish Motor Industry came out. It went over the past ten troubled years of the industry. In each of the years it was quite apparent that Jack was to the forefront in all the fights that needed to take place on behalf of that industry. There is concern in the industry that he is gone and he will be missed greatly by his colleagues in the industry.

In the political sphere, I first came across him when he beat me for a nomination to the Seanad in peculiar circumstances. They were peculiar in the sense that I felt I got too close to him for comfort because I did not want the nomination. I wanted him to get it. By a peculiar quirk of PR, two Fianna Fáil votes went astray, as I would think, and the votes went to Jackie which was a relief to everybody in the motor industry and, at the time, it was a partial relief to me.

In politics I met Jackie on various occasions. He was always courteous. He was diligent in his work for the people who elected him. His work in the House whether it was in the Chair, on the Committee of Procedure and Privileges, or in his position as Whip was always diligent and excellently carried out. He will be missed by his colleagues here in the Seanad but he will be missed equally by his family. The tributes paid to him in Killarney were well deserved. By the crowd that turned up from all over the county to pay tribute to him, his worth was shown in public for the first time. A lot of Jackie's work was not done in the public eye, although he had an eye for publicity on occasions. Aer Lingus at times were not too pleased with the publicity he gave to one of their cheaper fares, or supposedly cheaper fares.

We remember him from our hearts. He will be missed by everybody in this Chamber, by his party colleagues and by those he supported in the motor industry and those in any other area of society who approached him for help. I would like on my own behalf and on behalf of the Government Party to express again our deepest sympathy to his family on their sad bereavement.

Mr. Manning

It is very hard to believe that only a short week ago Senator Jackie Daly was sitting in this House, present as always for the Order of Business, present as always throughout the day, working as chief Opposition Whip to ensure that the business of this House proceeded in an orderly and efficient way, as always paying full attention to the details and the problems that make the job of a Whip so important and often so thankless.

Death and its setting are never appropriate but, given that death is inevitable, it is perhaps appropriate that Senator Jackie Daly should die in harness, struck down while working in the service of this House and while doing the work he loved and valued so much. Knowing Jackie, it is, I believe, the way he would have wished it to be. It is hard to talk and think of Jackie in the past tense. Even as I stand here today, I can feel his spirit sitting in the Whip seat behind me telling me to take it easy, or to pass on quickly to the next business.

There are things about Jackie and his career which must be said and put on the record. Perhaps the most striking thing about him was his commitment to this House. It was total. He believed this House has a significant part to play in legislation. He believed this House gave voice to a wider diversity of views than could ever be heard in the other House. He believed that the traditions and practices of this House allowed for a calm, reasoned and tolerant approach to politics. He was angry with what he saw as unfair or uninformed criticism, or sniping at this House from outside. He was equally intolerant and equally angry if he felt that Members of the House were bringing it into disrepute, or were not pulling their weight. He felt it a great privilege to be a Member of this House, a great privilege to be a member of our national Parliament and he always behaved accordingly.

Senator Daly was always loyal especially to his electorate. No Senator was more conscientious in paying attention to the interests and the problems of his nominating body. The Irish motor industry have lost a very good friend in Senator Daly. He was equally loyal and concerned about his wider electorate, the members of our county and borough councils. Jackie's individual acts of kindness, his thoughtfulness, his generosity and his very genuine concern for all that affected the lives of these people will never be equalled. He had a capacity for real friendship.

Behind all of that he knew that the elected councillors, probably more than most, were in touch with the real people and the real problems of our country. They were the first to know if legislation passed here was working or not. They could gauge better than most the impact of laws that were made or not made in this House. Jackie always believed that their views and their concerns were authentic, that they deserved to be listened to and he ensured that they were listened to. This was not a fashionable or an elitist view of this House, but it was founded on a bedrock of reality. I believe it was a view just as valid and valuable as any other strand of representation in this or the other House.

When I say that Jackie Daly loved this House, I mean the full House. I believe he will be especially missed by the people who make possible the functioning of this House — the restaurant staff, the ushers, the secretarial staff, the Garda Síochána, the Library staff and those in the Seanad office. Jackie Daly's capacity for friendship ensured that all of us in the community of Leinster House feel a sense of personal loss and all of us will have our own personal memories of him.

Jackie was a lifelong committed member of Fine Gael. He was proud of his party, proud of where they came from and he was fiercely loyal to the party and their leader. He was unwavering and steadfast in the difficult days, and always optimistic about the times to come. His commitment never made him bitter or intolerant and no member had better relations with his political opponents than had Jackie. This was evident by the very wide representative turnout from all parties and groups who made the journey to Killarney to his final resting place last Friday and Saturday.

It is ultimately as a person that we will miss Jackie most. He was a decent good person, a decent, good politician and a decent, good Irishman. It is for these qualities of decency and goodness, for his humour, his warmth, his courtesy and his friendship that we will miss him most. Our deep sympathy goes to his family on their hour of loss. May he rest in peace.

Mr. J. O'Toole

It is a sad duty to chur leis na focail molta atá ráite cheana féin. The Independent group of Senators would like to be associated with and add to the votes of thanks and appreciation that are being passed here today. In the short time I knew him as a politician I had great regard for Jackie Daly — although I knew him for much longer when, years ago, the family bought cars from him. I also went to school with members of his extended family, so I certainly knew him for a period of time.

People make judgments in different ways. As somebody who has been a short time in the House, I have always looked at the way Members of the House respond to and interrelate with the staff of the House. More than any Member of either House, it would be fair to say, Senator Daly was held in the highest regard and respect by the people working at the top to the lowest jobs around this House. He reminded me of John Henry Newman's definition of an educated person and the first quality he looked for was the quality of tolerance. Certainly, tolerance was something he had in plenty. I will remember him for his tolerance and good humour.

His death came as a great personal shock to me. I was chatting with him in the ambulance as he was leaving here last week. I joked with him about arranging a pair so that there would not be any sudden votes. He told me to be sure to look after that. I thought he had recovered from the attack. We agree with Senator Manning that it was appropriate that he should die on the job. Indeed, at the time he was rushing to ensure that there was no break in the business of the House.

In my experience of working with him, both in this House and on committees, in particular the Committee on Procedure and Privileges, I always found him helpful, free with his advice and quite supportive. He was the essence of diligence. He was always in the House, on sitting days or otherwise. He was always ready to talk business. He was always ready to ensure that the business went ahead. He was always amenable, friendly and helpful to all Members on all sides of the House. It was quite appropriate that at the removal of his remains Members of all parties were there not just to see him off but physically to bring his remains out.

It is ironic that only last week he was talking to me about his plans for this week in Killarney where he had organised a number of things. He had arranged with people from all over Ireland to be in Killarney today or tomorrow. It is ironic that at this stage we should be thinking of him in the past tense. It is often said, indeed it is almost a cant, go mbeadh sé molta fiú féin dá mba rud é go raibh muidne inár dtost, but it is true on this occasion. We bid him farewell. We associate ourselves with the warm words of the previous speakers and we extend our sympathy to his family and to his extended family.

Mr. W. Ryan

It was more or less agreed that the Leaders of the groups would pay tribute to Jack today. I believe I am in a different position. First, I knew Jack since he came here in 1973 and then, as Whip for a number of years, I worked with him. During my time as Whip, I worked with a number of people. Jack Daly was the fairest and the best I ever met in this House. His duties as Whip may have been the cause of his death because you have to be a Whip to understand the responsibility it carries in this House and in the other House.

Jack was sitting in the Library reading the paper when he saw the Seanad screen go blank. His first reaction was to rush out and come up here. Maybe that bit of a run did not help him. He was a perfect gentleman. It is very hard for me to find words after what Senator Manning and Senator Lanigan and others have said. I knew him better because we were both Whips. If ever I was stuck for a pair for someone, I could go to Jack and he always obliged. His last words to me on Wednesday were: "Willie, I will not be here next week. I have to be at Killarney races. Can you get a pair for me?" That was arranged but I did not think it would be in these circumstances. In conclusion all I have to say is: may the good Lord have mercy on his soul and may the green grass of his beloved Kerry rest lightly on his mortal remains.

Mr. Ferris

It is with a sense of sorrow and sadness that, on behalf of the Labour Party group in the Seanad, I associate myself with this tribute to the memory of our colleague, Jack Daly, who left us suddenly last week without a pair. He was generous with a pair when one wanted it, as Senator Willie Ryan said. He was also an ardent believer in this House, as Senator Manning has said, and had a tremendous respect and regard for this House, the Houses of the Oireachtas, the institutions of the State. He had a particular respect for you, a Chathaoirligh, in your position and for the Leas-Chathaoirleach and all of us on all sides of the House irrespective of our political persuasion. All of us felt, after the traumatic end to his life last week, that we had lost somebody who was very close to us. The Labour Party, certainly, had a most close working relationship with Jackie in Government and out of Government. We never had an exchange of words or an argument about anything and we had our difficulties in and out of Government. Jackie in his own expert way had a way of settling all the problems that go with running a House of the Oireachtas and ensuring that legislation was dealt with expeditiously.

On a personal basis Jackie and I had a very special relationship simply because we were both elected at the same time on the same day on 11 April 1975 in by-elections to the Seanad which were caused by the deaths of two other Senators. Indeed, in that year tragically there were five by-elections and they were all filled together. Jackie and I treasured a picture that was taken at the time. The caption over it was: The New Boys. That really chuffed him. To be referred to as a new boy was really the pinnacle of his career. It took him a while to get in here but, from the moment he was elected to this House, he dedicated himself totally to it. He was never missing unless with a pair or by arrangement. He always ensured that the debate was conducted with the highest degree of decorum. He had wonderful respect from all of us for doing so.

We also had a special relationship in that Jackie and I lost our seats in the next election and we commiserated with each other. We had our ups and downs together. We had losses together and we both came back and won our seats again. We had a dialogue going on between us about how good things were and how tough things were. These are happy memories we have of him. It was certainly a privilege to know him. We have all benefited from being close to him whether we sat in the House or on the Committee on Procedure and Privileges where he fought tenaciously for the rights of Members of this House. On the day of his death he was ensuring that the rights of Members were established and upheld. One of his last commands to me going out the door was to ensure that that was followed through in his absence. As Senators know, we adjourned the matter awaiting his return to deal with it.

We have many happy memories of him. It was an honour to be present at the removal of his remains and at his burial and we were privileged, a Chathaoirligh, that you could be there to lead the guard of honour, representing all of us when we walked behind him as our last gesture of solidarity with him. I think he would have been proud that all of us were there, the Cathaoirleach, Members of the Seanad and Dáil and the Taoiseach who was represented officially. For me that said something of Jackie Daly. He could transcend all political affiliations and, as Senator Manning said, he defended the motor industry tenaciously. Not alone that, but he was successful in having major changes made in legislation and in financial legislation which affected the motor industry which he proudly represented.

There are legends about his canvassing. One could go on forever. On the day of his burial, members of the motor trade were there. Committed Fianna Fáil people said they never had any problem canvassing for and with Jackie because when they contacted their councillors, not alone did they not have to make an excuse that Jackie was a personal friend of the motor industry but they were reminded by the Fianna Fáil councillors that he was also a very special friend of theirs. He had something about him that most politicians can never achieve, the ability to deal with all people of all persuasions.

We have lost a friend. When we were present at the graveside the other day we looked down at the lakes he loved and was so proud of. As Willie Ryan said, we hope the green grass of his native Kerry will lay gently on him. I hope indeed that the green grass of Aghadoe will rest lightly on this wonderful Kerryman whom all of us loved so much. Go ndéana Dia Trócaire ar a anam.

Mrs. Robinson

As the longest serving university Senator I would like to join in the tributes to Senator Jackie Daly. I remember very well when he was elected to the Seanad, his immediate ability to establish a personal relationship with each of us. I think that is what we are trying to say today. He had a unique warm personal relationship with each Member of this House. He made a contribution which is very hard to quantify but I think that is a theme that has run through the contributions.

I had intended to refer to his warmth and to his capacity for friendship but, in fact, everyone who has spoken has emphasised these qualities. I had also intended to refer to his sense of what the Seanad is about, to the importance he attached to it, to the time he put into his role of Senator. That also has been emphasised by Senator Manning and others. It is something which is of particular importance in a Member of this House, and, therefore, although it was tragic that he died it was perhaps fitting that he pased away in the service of this House as has been mentioned.

I also wanted to refer to the many times he chaired this House as acting Chairman. He was a most fairminded, balanced, intelligent chairman, again with a sense of this House and as somebody often trying to open up issues and perhaps raise matters that might just have been on the margin of being in order, he was always generous, always perceptive. He followed the argument and allowed the maximum freedom to an individual Member. He will be greatly missed by all of us and I would like to join in the sympathy to his family.

Mr. Cregan

I am one of the new Senators and when you come first you look for friends. I met friends on all sides of the House but there are some people you get very friendly with and I become very friendly with Jackie. Jackie was a self-made man, a man who always recognised the other fellow's view. He always asked a question and in the question he was giving advice. He was a character and he had a warmth about him that was typical of Kerry people.

He recognised I think more than anybody else the qualities of this House and what the Houses of the Oireachtas mean. He was very proud of that. I did not realise on Thursday morning when he was leaving us that he would not be coming back. I was the last to leave him. He was fine. He was thoroughly checked out and he was going for an x-ray. All of a sudden he got a very bad attack and passed away shortly afterwards. He was a very, very dear friend of mine. He took an interest in everybody, even though they were in opposition to him or did not think like him. He had a great way about him when putting arguments across. The way he put across his arguments in this House was one thing. He was the perfect Senator. There may be an impression of the Seanad that would not be Jackie's impression. He put that across in an elegant way.

He was certainly very good to people and had great feelings and great compassion. He had a tendency to listen and to do things very discreetly in a very compassionate way. I know that because every week when I came up here the first person I looked for was Jackie. I will miss him and I know my friends Liam Burke and Senator McDonald will miss him. As he was being wheeled out of the House he said he was going for a 70,000 mile check up. Unfortunately he did not come back. He went gracefully. He would have liked it that way. He was privileged and honoured to be a Senator. We should be privileged and I am certainly honoured that I knew him.

Mr. Harte

If Jackie was here with us today he probably would say that enough has been said. We could talk for a lot longer and we would not cover all we would like to say. Jackie was a gentleman. He was very helpful in a personal way, particularly if somebody was ill and he had to do something for them. He went out of his way in a very practical way to see that everything possible was done. He was very tolerant in very difficult situations and he was always trying to find the best way forward out of awkward situations.

He brought a commitment to this House that anyone would bring to a business and took it no less lightly than any one would take a business. He took it very seriously indeed. I had many discussions with him. I can just picture Jackie having a store of information somewhere with little bits of paper relating to something you had asked him to do. This was evidence of the conscientiousness that he displayed in every sense of the word. He had an appeal for everybody in the House including the ushers and the staff in general. He had a disarming way with him when you wanted to have some sort of discussion with him, maybe on something he might not totally agree with. He used to look at me and say: "Do you think that would work Jack?" That meant I was not going to get any support. He had a nice way of telling you he was not going to support you. He was a gentleman. I would like to join with all of the other people in the House who have paid tribute to him. I felt it was right that only the Leaders of the various groups should speak but I could not resist the feeling that, having such regard for the man and being a Member of the House when he arrived, and having dealt with him as the Assistant Whip it would be wrong for me not to put on record the esteem in which I held him. May the Lord have mercy on his soul.

Mr. Robb

I was not here last Wednesday but when I opened The Irish Times the following day and read of the death of Jack Daly I realised along with everyone else here that I had lost a great friend.

As a Senator who is fortunate enough to be in this House from the northern part of Ireland I would like to say how very warmly he welcomed me when I first arrived here, how open he was with me in both agreeing and disagreeing with my views, not only in the House but privately as well, how very much he tried to understand in a very tolerant way the difficulties that confront the two communities in Northern Ireland, how he never tried to force a case in that direction but was hopeful that with tolerance and goodwill, time would bring us closer together. In bringing us closer together, he certainly reached across a very warm hand of friendship to myself from the extreme south west to the extreme north east. I shall miss him very much. I would like to offer his family my sympathy.

Mr. McDonald

I should like very briefly to pay a small tribute to my dear friend and colleague over a long number of years. I want to join in the various fulsome tributes my colleagues have paid to him in the House this evening. I know we have lost an admirable colleague. The Seanad has lost a very dedicated Senator. There is no doubt that Kerry has lost a particularly powerful representative. In my experience here irrespective of what kind of legislation was under discussion it was interesting to be in the Chair and listen to Senator Daly lauding the pros and cons of the tourist industry in Killarney at the drop of a hat: he never lost an opportunity to promote the interest of his beloved Kingdom.

The Fine Gael Party have lost a member who served the party with great dedication at every level from branch to the National Executive. I first met him on the national council almost 30 years ago but his work for the country through the party went back perhaps even 20 years further when, in less enlightened times, it took more guts and more dedication to stand by and to proclaim one's loyalties to one's ideas.

As has already been said, on the floor of the House or on the Committee on Procedure and Privileges or, indeed, on the Joint Committee on Small Businesses, he made a very definite contribution. In his later role as Whip, a post which has always been a very difficult one, he played it with understanding and appreciated the pressures on colleagues. He gave everybody consideration and, through his work as Whip, his great integrity and his agreeableness shone forth very clearly.

In his business career he was a national leader. In the Seanad where our electoral system is based on the vocational system, he was the ideal Senator. He publicly defended and promoted the interests and the viability of the motor industry on every possible occasion. I do not think the Finance Bills will be the same again from the point of view of his getting in the plugs about the dire straits which the industry was in. It is nice to see that in appreciation of that contribution in the House and elsewhere, his colleagues and friends in the Society of the Irish Motor Industry elected him a fellow of the society which I think is international. By any standards this was an honour and a rare distinction for an Irishman. We all agree that he deserved it. If I may, a Chathaoirligh, I would like to say to the President and Council of the SIMI and to his friends and colleagues in the trade that we sympathise with them in their loss.

The greatest loss of all, I believe, is to his family. Jack was not a proud or a vain man but, to my certain knowledge, he took great pleasure and pride in the progress and especially the happiness of his family and of his cherished grandchildren, one and all. That came out very much undisguised. For those of us who were very close to him his loss is irreplaceable. Many will recall his splendid qualities of mind and heart and his generous nature, so shrewd in assessing the propositions of others innovative in his thinking beyond the norm of accepted ideas and imaginative in his expectation and desires for a better Ireland, for perhaps an Ireland better than the one he and his generation grew up in.

I would like especially, a Chathaoirligh, to thank you, and all our colleagues in the House who attended the funeral. I believe the family would like me to express their sincere appreciation and thanks and to yourself, a Chathaoirligh, for taking part in the guard of honour which involved quite a long walk through Killarney. We very much appreciate your kind gesture. The family asked me to express their very sincere thanks to you.

To the Clerk of the Seanad, the Captain of the Guard and the individual members of the staff of the House who travelled the not inconsiderable journey down to Killarney for the funeral and to pay their respects, the family are very grateful and very much appreciate the support and messages of condolence. If I may speak on a personal basis, I have had a very close personal relationship with Jack for many years. To me and a few of our colleagues who spent our leisure time together, especially in midweeks, he is a great loss. There will be a great change of lifestyle for us all but at least we have found memories of a man who served his country very well. May the Lord have mercy on him.

An Cathaoirleach

I would like to add my tribute to Jack to those of all my colleagues here. Certainly Jack's going last Thursday has deprived me and Senators to whom I have listened and, indeed, Senators who have not spoken but would wish to do so, of a very great and sincere friend. He devoted himself unselfishly to this House. Like myself and other Members he firmly believed in the Seanad; he understood its constitutional status and he was a staunch supporter of its role. Indeed, he believed in the other House also.

I would like again to try to convey our sympathy to his family and to his dearly loved daughter, Fidelma, and his two sons Billy and Jimmy, his sisters and his son-in-law and say to them that perhaps time may help them to get over the awful loss of Jack leaving them. He loved them deeply and because of recent events in my own life we could talk quite freely of those who were close to us and whom we loved. He was one of the most popular members of this House. He was in it before me, as Senator Ferris said, and then left it for a short time and came back. Since 1977, when I came in here he was a marvellous friend and he was absolutely sincere in everything he did.

He is a dreadful loss to the Fine Gael Party and to the organisation and I would like to put that on record. Sometimes it is said that you can be replaced and maybe you will not be missed. I certainly think Jack Daly will be missed and that his memory will stay with all of us for a long time. I did not think I was saying goodbye to him at 12.45 last Thursday when he went into the ambulance. The guard of honour who escorted him in Dublin and in Killarney were a tribute to the man, to the way he served all his constituency, the whole nation. I would like also to put on record — I could not say it to him: he was gone — my appreciation of his co-operation when he was a temporary chairman when I was Cathaoirleach six years ago and then when he was with me for four years when I was Leas-Chathaoirleach and with former Senator Pat Joe Reynolds. Again he was here for the past 12 months. He was always there when we had to call on him. I would like to say thanks also on behalf of the Clerk of the Seanad, Kieran and Deirdre, the Assistant Clerk as they do not have an opportunity to say it themselves. He was a wonderful friend also to them. All we can say now is "May God look after Jack". We know he is with his late wife and all we can retain are wonderful memories of a great Senator and a great public representative. May God rest his soul. We will now stand.

Members rose in their places.