It was with enormous regret that I learnt this morning of the death of the late Commandant Jim Sanfey, former Senator and former general secretary of Fine Gael. Jim Sanfey gave long and dedicated service to Fine Gael and to the Seanad in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Before that, he had served in the Army from 1941 to 1967. He was a graduate of the Command and Staff School and a commandant in the Supply and Transport Corps. He served with the UN in the Congo in 1961 and was captain of the 34th Irish Battalion.
He was general secretary of Fine Gael from 1967 to 1977 and was a Senator from 1973 to 1977. He was Government Chief Whip in the Seanad and also served on the Committee of Procedure and Privileges and the Committee of Selection.
In his political work Jim Sanfey brought to bear his extensive organisational qualities which achieved significant by-election victories in Wicklow in 1968 when Godfrey Timmins was elected, in Kildare and Longford-Westmeath in 1970 when Paddy Malone and Pat Cooney were elected on the same day and in Monaghan in 1973 when Brendan Toal was elected.
At all times as general secretary of the party he gave extremely dedicated and loyal service. Another very significant attribute is that in those days he helped keep the books balanced with very limited resources.
I extend my sympathy to his wife, Gabrielle, and his children, Hilary, David, John and Michael. He was a particularly loyal and dedicated supporter of my father, who had the pleasure of appointing him to the Seanad as one of the Taoiseach's nominees in 1973. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
