Before I announce the Matters on the Adjournment I understand that the House wishes to pay tribute to former Taoiseach, the late Mr. Jack Lynch, who died this morning. I propose to call the leaders of the various groups and Senators who had close connections with Jack Lynch or with the Cork area. I call the Leader of the House, Senator Cassidy.
Death of Former Taoiseach: Expressions of Sympathy.
It is with great sadness that I pay tribute to the former Taoiseach and statesman, Jack Lynch. With his sad passing, we have lost a great gentleman and statesman. Jack Lynch entered politics in 1948 when he first stood for election for Fianna Fáil to represent his much loved Cork. Before entering politics he was a respected civil servant in the Department of Justice where he served from 1936 to 1945. He was called to the Bar in 1945 and he resigned his job to practise full-time on the Cork circuit. He later stood for election and was elected to serve the borough constituency of Cork until 1969. He was then elected as Deputy for the constituency of Cork North-Central from 1969 until his retirement in 1981.
Throughout his career Jack Lynch was an excellent public representative and served in the most senior ministries. He was Minister for the Gaeltacht from March to June 1957, Minister for Education from 1957 to 1959, Minister for Industry and Commerce from 1959 to 1965, Minister for Finance from 1965 to 1966, before becoming leader of Fianna Fáil and Taoiseach in 1966. He succeeded Seán Lemass as leader of Fianna Fáil and Taoiseach in November 1996. He was leader of the Opposition from 1973 to 1977. On his re-election, he held the position of Taoiseach again from 1977 to 1979.
Despite coming through a turbulent period at the beginning of the troubles, he demonstrated a great degree of statesmanlike resourcefulness and calm dignity. While in Opposition he built up the Fianna Fáil Party again into a formidable organisation and fought a great election in 1977, which saw him returned to power with a landslide victory of 84 seats, the largest majority obtained by any party leader in the State's history. His most significant achievement as Taoiseach was to steer Ireland into the EU, paving the way for future economic prosperity. In years to come this will be seen as an outstanding moment for the country and not just of his contribution as Taoiseach. He retired as leader of Fianna Fáil and Taoiseach in 1979 and from the Dáil in 1981.
He was a proud Corkman and will be remembered in Cork, after his politics, for his sporting skills, particularly in football and hurling in which he won six consecutive All-Ireland medals from 1941 to 1946 – five for hurling and one for football. This extraordinary success on the sportsfield gave him a special rapport with people wherever he went. I have fond memories of campaigning with him in the sweltering summer heat of 1977 in Castlepollard. His natural charisma and way with the people was almost like that of a movie star.
On behalf of Seanad Éireann and the Fianna Fáil Senators, I offer our condolences to his wife Máirín and send our deepest sympathy to the people of Cork and to those who knew him. He was a great Irishman and will be remembered fondly by the people whom he served so well as leader of the Government and as a statesman.
On behalf of the Fine Gael Party, I join the tribute paid by the Leader of the House to the late Jack Lynch.
The first word that comes to mind when one thinks of Jack Lynch is decency. He was a profoundly decent man, honourable, straightforward and generous. His lifestyle was simple; he liked the ordinary, everyday things of Irish life. He was most at home with ordinary people and he never lost the run of himself either as a sportsman or as a politician. He did not particularly want to become Taoiseach but when he did, he was a good leader. He put the country first. He never pushed his own ambitions and deemed it a privilege to serve. He saw public life as an honour.
Jack Lynch did a great deal to hold this country together when the Northern troubles erupted. He showed steel in facing down powerful interests and had to endure the sneering and vilification of many powerful groups for many years because of the stand he took at that time. That stand was taken in the interests of all the people of this island and history will vindicate what he did in those difficult and dangerous days.
Today is not the day to assess the political career of Jack Lynch. That will come in its own time and I believe he will stand the test of rigorous scrutiny. Today we should mourn the passing of a good and patriotic man who always did his best as he saw it in the interest of this country. Like all Taoisigh before him, his lifestyle was simple. He made no money from politics nor did he seek to. His honesty and truthfulness were accepted by all parties. He was a man of his word.
I got to know Jack Lynch after he left politics. As a result of my interest in history, I spent many hours talking to him. It was always a pleasure to be in his company. His stories about politics, hurling and Irish life, stories in which he always played down his own part, were full of the humour and humanity of ordinary situations. I will always cherish the memory of the hours I spent with him just chatting about Irish life and his part in it, although he was always reluctant to talk about himself. It was a great privilege to have known Jack Lynch in those relaxed days.
To Máirín, his wife and great friend who was so proud and protective of him, goes our deepest sympathy. All Ireland mourns the passing of this good and decent man.
On behalf of the Independent Senators, I wish to be associated with the tributes to the late Jack Lynch, a quintessential Corkman who stood for all that was good in Irish life. He was respected by people from all political spheres and from none.
Jack Lynch has imposed himself on the folk memory of this country. He was associated with the quintessential aspects of Irish life, simple and great. He was a great sports person and a great Corkman. He loved his hurling, football and his Paddy. With the image of the pipe smoking Taoiseach he conveyed a gravitas that allowed people to warm to him. He came across as a dignified, honourable and decent public representative. He is a role model for public representatives in terms of commitment to the job of public representation. Certain people in different groups in society are capable of doing this and Jack Lynch did it for public representatives.
I have always had the highest respect for him. I echo Senator Manning's words. Jack Lynch showed extraordinarily unusual courage when it was demanded of him. Reluctant and unambitious with regard to the office of Taoiseach, he carried the job with great style and honesty. He did what was required of him and, although much of that was unacceptable to others, he did it with courage. One can say no more about somebody in public life than to observe that they led courageously.
On behalf of our group, I extend our sympathy to his wife, his friends and his party.
On behalf of the Labour Party, I wish to be associated with the tributes that have been paid to Jack Lynch and to offer our condolences to his wife, Máirín, the people of Cork and the Fianna Fáil Party.
Jack Lynch was always a gentleman, always a decent man. That is something one can be proud to say of a politician. He started at the bottom rung of politics in 1948 and progressed through local government to national politics and worked in a wide range of Ministries before reaching the top as Taoiseach. Along the way, both throughout the country and in all political parties, he was known and almost revered as somebody who was honest and decent.
He led Fianna Fáil through difficult times. He came to the leadership of the party around the outbreak of the troubles in Northern Ireland and became Taoiseach in 1966. They were traumatic and controversial times and he showed enormous courage in the decisions he took in the interest of the entire island. At the end of the 1970s when he relinquished the leadership, it was done with grace and decorum as befitted a gentleman.
He led Ireland into the European Economic Community in 1972. That, too, took place in difficult circumstances when there was great opposition to our joining, although we now see the benefits that flowed from it. Jack Lynch was a Corkman to his fingertips. I did not know the man very well but I remember the many elections that culminated with Jack singing "The Banks of My Own Lovely Lee". One would know that, once again, Jack Lynch had led Fianna Fáil to another victory both in Cork and nationally. He was a great sportsman and won six consecutive All-Ireland medals. Nobody has equalled that achievement. His membership and involvement in the GAA opened many doors to him across the political divide.
I offer our condolences to Máirín, the people of Cork and to Fianna Fáil on the loss of a great husband and leader. We regret his passing. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
The death of Jack Lynch was not unexpected yet, when it happened this morning, we were filled with a deep sense of sadness and loss, not just for Jack himself but for, perhaps, better days in politics and what Jack Lynch stood for.
It is true that Jack Lynch would have been a great national hero even if he had never entered public life. His skill and prowess on the sports field had earned him that. However, Jack did enter public life and because he did, public life in this country was enriched and ennobled. Jack was the first of the post-Civil War leaders. He came into politics when the bitterness of the Civil War was still rampant. Jack was the first Fianna Fáil Leader to ordain that a Fianna Fáil Minister could be present at the Michael Collins memorial in Beal na Bláth. That was typical of Jack. He was a unifying figure in Irish politics. He never sought to exploit divisions for his personal advancement or other reasons. He was a strong, unifying figure and he will be fondly remembered for that.
He came to politics at a tough time. The problems in Northern Ireland broke out soon after he became Taoiseach. Jack held his nerve when others were losing theirs and, perhaps, were playing a different tune and pursuing a different agenda. Jack held democracy in place and ensured it for this country, as I have no doubt historians will confirm when the history of that time comes to be rigorously researched and written. It can be said of Jack Lynch that he upheld and maintained democracy and perhaps that is one of his greatest achievements – the statesmanlike way in which he conducted public affairs in very difficult times.
Jack was a man of immense integrity and decency. I think it was in Julius Caesar that Shakespeare wrote: “The evil that men do lives after them, the good is oft interred with their bones.” I do not think that will happen in the case of Jack Lynch. The good will live on and whenever or wherever the qualities of decency, integrity and a sense of patriotism and public service are valued Jack Lynch will be fondly remembered.
History will write well and kindly of Jack Lynch. We, the democrats of today, owe him a great debt. Those of us who would seek to find role models for young people whom we would like to interest in politics could do no better than point to Jack Lynch, to all he stood for, his human qualities and his qualities in public life.
His wife, Máirín, stood by him. They were a remarkable pair. Memories flood back and they both will be spoken of, as we say in Cork, with deep affection.
We learned with sadness of the death this morning of the former Taoiseach, Jack Lynch, after a long illness. He rendered long and distinguished service as a public representative, particularly during his time as Taoiseach when his achievements included bringing Ireland into the European Community and dealing with a difficult situation at the start of the troubles in the late 1960s.
I met him on a number of occasions, particularly in the 1970s. At all times he was most courteous and very interested in me and how I was doing. He also enjoyed a very good personal relationship with my father despite obvious political skirmishes, which are part and parcel of the game of politics. His achievements on the sporting field, where he won six All-Ireland medals, are renowned. He was one of the few who won a medal under both codes.
He was a man who gave politics a good name. As Senator Quill said, particularly in the present climate, one could do worse than cite him as a role model. To his wife, Máirín, I extend my personal sympathy.
On behalf of the Progressive Democrats, I would like to be associated with this vote of sympathy on the death of the former Taoiseach, Jack Lynch. It was correct that we deferred to Senator Quill in the tributes because of her association with Cork and with Jack Lynch.
In marking his passing, we mark the death of a great Irishman, Corkman, sportsman, politician and republican in the truest and best sense of the word. He did not belong to that kind of republicanism which has been devalued so badly over so many years. The country owes him a great debt of gratitude because, as Senator Quill said, very few people have been called upon in the history of this State to ensure that the institutions of the State and the democracy and freedom we enjoy should be defended. He did that unflinchingly with determination and great even-handedness. That is his central political achievement and the one for which the Irish people should be most grateful to him.
He was a modest and unassuming man. He was one of the many people of that generation who believed it was important to serve the State to the best of one's ability, to seek no reward for that service because that service in itself was enough. That is another mark of the man.
He was Taoiseach for nine years and leader of his party, Fianna Fáil, for 13 years. He won five All-Ireland hurling medals and one All-Ireland football medal. Even at that level one could say he was an immense figure on the Irish landscape. His other great achievement was leading Ireland into what was then the European Common Market, now the European Union.
I am sure many stories will be told about him over the next few days, but I recall in July 1972 he officially opened the Irish Farm Centre where I working as a young journalist for the Irish Farmers' Journal. He enjoyed himself so much that day that we got a phone call the following morning to ask where was his hat. The State car had to be dispatched the following morning to recover the hat he had left behind. As always, he was at ease with people and, as Senator Manning said, very good at entertaining them, speaking to them and being at the level of the most ordinary person in the land. He will be greatly missed.
He had a difficult illness which he faced with great courage with the support of his wife, Máirín. To her, we extend our deepest sympathy. May he rest in peace.
It is with sadness that I join in the expressions of sympathy on the death of Jack Lynch to his wife, Máirín, and his family. I join in the tributes to Jack which have been paid this morning, as they have been paid to him over many years. I will not enumerate Jack Lynch's political involvement. It is well known and well respected.
Coming from Cork, I knew Jack for a long time, going back to his days on the sporting field when he played hurling and football, and subsequently in politics. I remember he came back from playing a match in west Cork on a dark winter's Sunday when some small incident had occurred on the field. The referee, Jackie Murphy, who came from Inishannon, was a good friend of Jack's. Jack called into Jackie afterwards to say that he, as referee, was right and that he deserved the telling off he got. That was the type of man Jack Lynch was. He was noble, kind, gentle, humble and modest. He was a man of great mental integrity. The qualities he brought to public life are something to which everybody in public life could well aspire. He was a shining example of a man who served well and led well.
The bells of Shandon when they toll will toll to a different tune this week. He will be buried in his native Cork. The people of Ireland loved Jack Lynch. They showed that on many occasions inside and outside politics, across the political divide, on the sporting fields and in the Gaelic Athletic Assocation, which was so close to his heart. Dr. Con Murphy, the former president of the GAA, will speak in glowing terms of Jack Lynch because they were great friends. Jack Lynch was friends with many people in the Gaelic Athletic Association. His roots are in west Cork where he always went on his holidays. Many good stories will be told and retold about him over the coming weeks and months. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.
Mr. Ryan
Ní bheadh sé oiriúnach gan focal nó dhó a rá faoi Jack Lynch ós rud é go bhfuil conaí orm i gCorcaigh le beagnach 26 nó 27 bliain. An rud is mó a chuaigh i bhfheidhm orm i gCorcaigh ná an cheangail a bhraith gnáthdhaoine i gCorcaigh idir iad féin agus Jack Lynch. Bhraitheadar gur duine le chéile, duine ionainn féin ab ea Jack Lynch. Bhraitheadar go raibh sé ina Thaoiseach ach nach raibh sé riamh ach ina ghnáthdhuine ag an am chéanna.
My father was always a supporter of Jack Lynch and of the party he led. He always said to me, long before crises demonstrated it, that one of Jack Lynch's most extraordinary qualities was his deceptive gentleness. He said that anybody who had seen him on the sporting field, as my father had, would realise that while he was gentle and kind he had, when necessary, a backbone of steel. His political leadership in difficult times demonstrated both of those qualities extremely well. He also demonstrated that it is possible to be successful in politics by being one's self and by relying on one's innate qualities to make contact with ordinary people.
Is trua go bhfuil sé imithe uainn, is trua go raibh an oiread sin le fulaingt aige sna blianta deireadh, ach is iontach an méid oibre a rinne sé agus is iontach an méid a d'fhág sé ina dhiaidh. Is iontach freisin an tionchar a bhí aige ar an tír. Ar dheis lámh Dé go raibh a anam dílis.
Cork and the country are quieter places today because of the loss of Jack Lynch. He had a unique standing with the people of Cork who regarded him as the real Taoiseach. He did not have any illusions and his ways were simple. Everyone had great regard for Jack, irrespective of what part of Cork one came from or one's political standing. People respected him because he was unique and decent. We were proud of him in Cork. I know the people of Cork will turn out in their thousands for his funeral in the next few days. One cannot explain why he was so popular with the people of Cork. He was born close to Shandon and his family now live in the city and county. One is always proud to meet any of the Lynch family.
Many Senators mentioned his political achievements, which were great. However, he was also a great sportsman. He was a class hurler and he played centre field for Cork. He won a medal for football but he did not boast about it, although he probably should have won more. He always wore a cap, not a hat, when he went to a match because he did not want to be noticed. Some of his best friends came from other clubs. He was a great Glen Rovers man, as everyone knows, but he also had friends in St. Finbarrs. He did not lose those friends and that is why Cork people will always regard him as the real Taoiseach. Like other Taoisigh who succeeded him, he did not want to be noticed.
He was sick for a long time and he had a sore leg, which meant he could not walk properly. Everyone in Cork feels a great loss this morning. I thank his wife, Máirín, for the way she looked after him when he was sick.
I had the privilege of serving in this House when Jack Lynch was leader of our party and Taoiseach. It was wonderful to attend my first Fianna Fáil parliamentary party meeting when Jack Lynch was leader. He had a great record in political life and in sport. He holds the record of being the only man in Ireland to win six All-Ireland medals in a row. He showed wonderful leadership when he was captain of the Cork team and he brought that leadership into politics when he became leader of the party and of the country. He commanded respect. He was a decent, honourable man and a gentleman. I had respect for him when he was leader of the party. I extend my deepest sympathy to his wife Máirín.
I would like to be associated with the tributes paid to the late Jack Lynch and to join in the expression of sympathy to his wife Máirín.
Members rose.