I now propose to call on the Acting Leader of the House and thereafter to invite the leaders of the other groupings in the House to associate themselves with the vote of sympathy which will be proposed by the Acting Leader of the House, Senator McGowan.
Death of Former Dáil Member: Expression of Sympathy.
On behalf of the Government party, I formally propose a vote of sympathy to the wife and family of the late Brendan Corish.
Brendan Corish gave 37 years service as a public representative in a manner that earned the respect of most reasonable people in the country. He did a lot of hard work for his people. His death is a major loss to the people he represented, and to the Labour Party.
On behalf of our party I would like to be associated with and to second the vote of sympathy to Mrs Phyllis Corish, to Dick, Philip, John, their families and the other members of the Corish family on their great loss. It was with great sadness that I learned on Saturday evening of Brendan's death. He had been ill for a long time so it was not unexpected.
It was an honour for me to have served on Wexford Corporation and Wexford County Council with the late Brendan Corish. I speak personally from a knowledge of the man and of his commitment not just to our country but to his beloved Wexford town and county. He was a man of great kindness and humour and a man above all who respected the dignity of every person. He had little time for the trappings of office and was quite frustrated by any nonsense that went with any position he held over the years. His death will be a great loss. He was one of the giants in Irish politics, a quiet man, an unpretentious man and, above all, he was a great Wexford man and a great Irishman. Our sympathy goes to all the family.
This is a particularly sad occasion for us in the Labour Party to say a few words on this expression of condolence to the widow and family of Brendan Corish because not only was he the Leader of the Labour Party for over 17 years but he was a very close friend of all the people who served with him in the party. He had the confidence of the Labour Party throughout the 17 years, quite unchallenged. There are not many such instances. It is a measure of how he inspired the people who were led by him and of the confidence they had in him. He was one of those people who were the embodiment of the values and principles which bound the Labour Party together. When you looked at Brendan Corish you knew you were looking at someone who was in pursuit of justice.
It is sad to talk about the departure of a person of Brendan Corish's stature. For somebody who gave almost 40 years of their life to a career in politics and who throughout that career was able to show courtesy and to be distinguished in his contributions, is not only a great tribute to the man but is a great memory for the family.
There were sad occasions for Brendan Corish. The effort he had put into bringing about the Sunningdale Agreement was not generally known but it was known to many of us that he worked day and night to bring it about and, consequently, it was very sad for him to see that the hatred remained entrenched subsequent to the signing of the agreement
He was a man who hated hypocrisy. He hated injustice and selfishness and he had a passion for the rights and dignity of people. He was quiet in his own way and it was only when you were serving with him you got to know the man and his sense of purpose. If he went after something he pursued it but not on his own behalf because he was a man without personal ambition. As Senator Doyle said, he was not interested in the trappings of office but he had a burning ambition in office to bring an end to injustice in our society. With his trade union background he was concerned about the freedom of the working people from exploitation.
We have to look back at the things that happened in Brendan Corish's time as Tánaiste and Minister for Health which it was thought would never happen again. I am talking about bringing down the old age pension from 70 to 66 years. That was introduced in 1974. He introduced a payment for single women when they reached a certain age. He introduced payments for unmarried mothers, for prisoners' wives. He gave a wife the right to the children's allowance. He was instrumental, along with Mr. Frank Cluskey, in setting up agencies to combat poverty, and so on. He was ably assisted by Mr. Cluskey in all the things I have mentioned. His socialism was based on the inalienable protecting right of the citizen, the right to shelter and ensuring that special interest groups were not allowed to gain ascendancy over others. That was what he believed in. In order to do that he had to blend the Labour Party into a cohesive force and he performed that task very well. Throughout the 1960s we saw a great change of attitude in the Labour Party. Certainly Brendan Corish used a broader spectrum to get across to people what he and the Labour Party stood for.
While Brendan succeeded in many ways, the foremost memories we will always have of him are the values and principles which he pursued and which we have spoken about here. This is a great legacy which has been handed down from Brendan Corish to all of us, but most of all to his family. He was a man who exerted a major influence, not only in the Labour Party but throughout the country. He led by example. He did not believe in the sectarian divide; he bridged that gap and he made great efforts to bring about peace in our time.
I am thankful for the opportunity of paying this tribute to a great man who was not only Leader of the Labour Party but Tánaiste and Minister for Health and who travelled the hard road from Wexford to Dublin for 37 years.
Tá a lán rudaí go bhféadfainn a rá faoi Brendan Corish, ach ní bheadh sé oiriúnach ná ceart an iomarca ama a chaitheamh ar an ócáid seo.
I was a member of the Labour Party for a period during Brendan Corish's leadership. It is only in retrospect that one realises the considerable contribution he made not just as Minister but as a political leader to Irish life. Issues became fashionable in the late 1970s such as poverty and injustice, and many other groups in society to their great credit have taken them up since. However, in the 1960s when risks had to be taken and when words like socialism and issues related to what it meant to be on the left in Irish politics were not necessarily either popular or fashionable he was the one who took the risks and led the party in a direction, which, in my view, created and had a much more profound influence on the thinking of Irish politics than its numerical size even would suggest and contributed to a broadening of debate, a broadening of concerns and an opening up of the whole process of politics in this country to a host of new issues. On a "Today Tonight" special I heard the Tánaiste suggest that history would adjudicate quite favourably on the Government of which Brendan Corish was Tánaiste. It was a Government that left a considerable legacy of progressive legislation. It is very easy to look back 14 or 15 years later and not realise that.
There are other qualities that the people who knew him best can identify but I only once heard him speak in private where he did not need a script or need any of the trappings of ministerial office. That was in the days coming up to the 1973 election. He was an extraordinarily inspirational speaker without a script when he was among his own and felt that he was there to talk to those who agreed with him and supported his position. He was a far more inspirational figure than perhaps his television or public persona on the grand scale suggested. I felt a real twinge when I heard he had died. I knew one member of his family quite well. Dick was in college with me and I knew him quite well and, therefore, I felt a personal connection with him.
All the Independent Members of this House would like to be associated with a very sincere vote of sympathy. It is a vote of sympathy which had a particular quality about it over the weekend from all parts of the political spectrum. There was a very sincere, deeply-felt, unritualistic regret at the loss of a very significant figure in Irish politics.
The Progressive Democrats would like to be associated with the other groups in the House in remembering Brendan Corish and in extending the sympathy of the House and of the Progressive Democrats to his family, to his colleagues and to his friends in the Labour Party. He was a very distinguished public representative. I am sure it is the wish of all those who are public representatives to enhance the society they live in and, in terms of the changes which he achieved, by any stretch of the imagination he was an extremely successful public representative. He was also one of extreme integrity. That is the abiding memory that most of us will have of Brendan Corish. We would like to be associated with this vote of sympathy.
Senator Hugh Byrne is from the county and constituency of the late Brendan Corish. I think it is appropriate in the circumstances that I should acknowledge his request to be associated with this vote of sympathy.
I am very pleased that you have allowed me to speak.
Aontaím le gach rud atá ráite faoi Brendan Corish. Níl brón ach bród orm labhairt in a thaobh agus i dtaobh an saol a chaith sé ar son na hÉireann, ar son a chontae agus Baile Loch Garman.
Brendan Corish was a tremendous representative for Wexford. He was of a very gentle nature and everyone would agree with that. He was a great Irishman. He graced the football fields of Wexford and, indeed, nationally for Wexford. Possibly what endeared Brendan most to me was that when I became involved in national politics he constantly asked me what were the ages of my children. When I would tell him, he would say, "Stay close to them." That was probably his philosophy on life.
His passing will be a tremendous loss to all of us and to the Labour Party, but to Wexford and to his family it will be an irreplaceable loss. To his wife, Phyllis, and to John, Dick and Philip, I offer my sincerest sympathy.
The House will stand in silence for one minute as a tribute to Mr. Corish.
Members rose in their places.