Seanad Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 8 Dec 2004

Vol. 178 No. 24

Death of Former Member: Expressions of Sympathy

Ms O’Rourke

I wish to express my sympathy to the wife, family and friends of the late Senator and Deputy, John Francis Conlan, who spent four years in this House. He served his county, constituency and country in an exemplary fashion for many years.

John Conlan was returned to the Seanad at the beginning of his national political career when he stood for the industrial and commercial panel. He leaves a wife and two adult children. I remember him well from his time in the Dáil from 1982 until he lost his seat in 1987. He was a quiet unassuming person dedicated to his community and remained an excellent community worker throughout his life. He lost his county council seat in 1999. Mr. Conlan was true to Ballybay and his wider constituency. He was very involved in the GAA and community activities. By all accounts he was an exemplary person, quiet and unassuming, but confidently working for his constituents. His passing will leave a great void, not just in his family, but in the wider community which he continued to serve with great diligence. On behalf of the Fianna Fáil Senators, I express our condolences on his passing.

Mr. B. Hayes

John Francis Conlan was a servant of Fine Gael, County Monaghan and Irish democracy. Throughout his career in the Seanad and the Dáil he brought the best to Irish politics. As the Leader said, although he served only four years in this House, from 1965 to 1969, he had a distinguished career in the Dáil until he lost his seat in 1987. He contested the convention for our party in the constituency of Cavan-Monaghan in 1989 but was not selected.

In total, John Conlan had 49 years' service in local government as a member of Ballybay Town Commissioners and Monaghan County Council, an astonishing record and feat. I wish to express, on behalf of the Fine Gael Members in this House, our sympathy to his wife and two children. I attended his removal in Ballybay on Saturday night where I was struck by the cross-party support and respect for him in the guard of honour that passed by his pub and grocery business. That guard of honour was made up of all parties on Monaghan County Council, parties that would be vociferous opponents of ours, which is a great tribute to his ability to reach out to all political parties and shades of opinion. That was a mark of the man.

John Francis came from the Civil War tradition. His uncle was shot dead in the course of the first election in 1922 in Ballybay. Like so many politicians of that generation, his family came from the awfulness and bitterness of the Civil War. He knew what it was like and his family knew what it was like. He was steeped in that politics.

He was also steeped in the politics of James Dillon. He was Dillon's left-hand and right-hand man for 25 years. When Dillon, a former leader of our party, left politics in 1969, John Francis took his seat, not only that, he returned another Fine Gael Member. That was the first time we won two out of three seats in the Cavan-Monaghan constituency. That other Member was the late Senator Billy Fox. He was very proud of that, of his connections with Dillon and with the Ancient Order of Hibernians. As we know, Dillon's first constituency was in Donegal and he ended up in Monaghan. Wherever the AOH was, Dillon was, and that was very much a strong tradition in John Francis's life as well.

On behalf of our party, I thank the family of John Francis Conlan for its contribution to politics. He will be greatly missed in Ballybay, the town he loved so much, and in County Monaghan where he was a great politician with an illustrious career and record of service to the people.

It is difficult for Border representatives in the Seanad and Dáil, especially those who live close to the Border who have had to hold the line for Irish democracy through difficult years. In a sense, that Border region has been underdeveloped because of the problems of Northern Ireland and the immediacy of the Border. John Francis Conlan always worked hard to ensure the people of his native County Monaghan and the wider Cavan-Monaghan constituency would get the very best from any new deal on Northern Ireland. We hope and pray that deal will be safeguarded at some time in the future for the benefit of all people, not just in Northern Ireland but especially people along the Border. That would be a great tribute to his memory.

Mr. O’Toole

A Chathaoirligh, in paying tribute to the memory of John Francis Conlan I should say none of us on the Independent benches served with him, although I did meet him on one or two occasions on trips he made back here. It is ironic and perhaps fitting in another way that on today of all days we should pay tribute to a man who was part of that generation of politicians who bridged the gap between the gun and the vote. In that sense he is deserving in a fundamental way of the tribute we pay him.

In his half century of commitment to public life as a Senator, Deputy, county councillor and urban councillor, we hear of John Francis as a man of the people, one who was rooted in his locality. He was a community worker of the kind we now badly need. He was part of what has been lost in today's society, social capital. He invested significant personal social capital in his community.

For those of us of my age who were looking at politics from afar before we got in here, his name was ever present in election reports during all those years from the 1960s to the 1980s. We extend our condolences to the Fine Gael Party and more particularly to former Senator Conlan's wife and family.

Mr. Ryan

It dawned on me this morning that, increasingly, I stand up here on these sad occasions to talk about people whose careers overlapped with my own, which to some extent brings intimations of mortality. It is always a privilege to pay tribute to people who have put so much of their lives into genuine altruistic public service. The account of John Francis Conlan's life given by Senator Brian Hayes reveals a man of extraordinary commitment.

It is difficult for us living in prosperous modern Ireland to realise the pain and vision of democracy people like the late former Senator Conlan endured and their willingness to put democracy before all else and share Government, participate in it and build up institutions we take for granted. Those institutions were not just built up by the people who became Taoisigh and Presidents, they were built up by the foot soldiers of democratic politics at local and national level, of whom John Francis Conlan was clearly an exemplary member.

On behalf of the Labour Party, I extend our sympathy to the family of the late John Francis Conlan and also to the Fine Gael Party which has obviously lost a stalwart member.

Mr. Dardis

On behalf of the Progressive Democrats, I join with other Members in paying tribute to the memory of John Francis Conlan and extend our sympathy to his wife and two children.

He was first elected in his 20s to Monaghan County Council in 1955 so he was a very long serving member of that council and also of the town commission and other public bodies in that area. This is a remarkable level of service in total, apart from his extended service in Dáil Éireann. Today of all days, given the circumstances in Northern Ireland, there is a very powerful message of reconciliation and commitment to democracy from John Francis's life and the experience of his family which we should bear in mind.

I am sure our colleague, Senator O'Brien, will be able to elaborate in greater detail as to John's contribution locally and nationally, but he was also involved in the business life of Monaghan in Ballybay. He was one of those people who laid the foundations of business and commerce in rural Ireland at a time when, as was stated earlier, things were very different, life was difficult and people had to live frugally. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.

Mr. O’Brien

I thank the House for allowing me to speak about the late John Francis Conlan. I grew up as a neighbour of his and knew him all my life. God rest his soul. There are many stories and much has rightly been said about the late John Francis Conlan in the House this morning. He was a true gentleman. I express my deepest sympathy to his wife Lily, son Seán, daughter Marie Therese, sister Kathleen Carraher and brother-in-law, Bernard Carraher, from Ballybay and all his family and relations.

John Francis was born in 1928 and began his public life at the early age of 22 by joining Ballybay Town Commissioners, which he served for almost a half century, 49 years. He joined Monaghan County Council in 1955 where he served until 1999. I served 20 of those years with John Francis on Monaghan County Council from 1979 to 1999.

His commitment to the people of Castleblaney in his immediate electoral area, and all his constituents in Cavan and Monaghan, was immense. It was untold what the man did for poor people throughout those years. He was elected to the Seanad in 1965, served in the Dáil from 1969 until 1987 and worked hard for the people of his constituency. As was already stated this morning, he was a quiet, hard-working, decent man — a true gentleman and one who could always be approached. He had a pub and grocer's shop in Ballybay and everyone was welcome to bring their problems to John Francis — one's political persuasion did not matter because he worked for everyone. He received as many Fianna Fáil votes as Fine Gael votes in the Castleblaney electoral area in local elections and throughout the constituency in Dáil elections.

John Francis was a unique man. He was highly respected in this House and was probably one of the most respected Oireachtas Members of his time. It was wonderful to hear Oireachtas Members and staff who served with him during his terms speak so highly of him. I mourn his passing. I enjoyed the 20 years during which I served on Monaghan County Council with him. He had a wonderful sense of humour. May he rest in peace.

Mr. Wilson

I join with other speakers in paying tribute to the late John Francis Conlan. I knew him fairly well and always found him to be a very honourable, decent, quiet, unassuming and private man, which is unusual for a politician and even more so for a publican. He cherished his private moments with his wife, son and daughter. As previous speakers have stated, his political career began in 1950 when he was elected to Ballybay Town Commissioners. He was first elected to Monaghan County Council in 1955 and returned in each subsequent county council election until his retirement in 1999. His colleagues on Monaghan County Council paid him the ultimate honour any local public representative can receive; he became chairman of the county council before he retired in 1999, which was a lifetime ambition of his.

He served as a Member of this House between 1965 and 1969 when he was elected as a Dáil Deputy for the constituency of Monaghan, which he served with distinction between then and 1977 when he was fortunate to add County Cavan to the constituency, which he also served with distinction. As Senator O'Brien already stated, he received as many Fianna Fáil votes as he did Fine Gael votes. It was ironic that when he lost the seat in 1987, he received his third highest first preference vote in seven elections.

I join with other Senators in paying tribute to a fellow public representative, the late great John Francis Conlan, and I express my sincere sympathy to his wife, son and daughter and the Fine Gael Party in County Monaghan. May he rest in peace.

An Cathaoirleach

I wish to join in the tributes to the late John Francis Conlan. As has already been expressed, he had a record term of service as a public representative both as a local county councillor and a national parliamentarian. He commenced national politics in this House in 1965 and, as is the case with many other national parliamentarians, he graduated to the Dáil where he served for 18 years. He served a total of 22 years in the Oireachtas, which is an achievement in itself.

I am delighted to hear that he was also a great GAA man. I understand that the magnificent Ballybay GAA grounds in Monaghan are the result of the fine work done by John Francis and others, which is another indication of his community spirit. To his wife, Lily, his son, Seán, and daughter, Marie Therese, I offer my sincere sympathy.

Members rose.