Seanad Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 22 Mar 2005

Vol. 179 No. 17

Death of Former Member: Expressions of Sympathy.

Ms O’Rourke

Two former Senators have passed away but we will not have expressions of sympathy on the death of the second until after his funeral.

I express my sympathy on the death of a strong and committed Fine Gael Senator who was the Leader of this House for a period, Mr. Michael J. O'Higgins. I am aware that the party opposite will have many fine things to say about him but I would like to commend and appreciate the strong way he represented people over a number of years. He was a member of the O'Higgins family, a very well known and distinguished family, many of whom went into politics and all of whom distinguished themselves, as did Michael J.O'Higgins. His uncle was Kevin O'Higgins and his father, Kevin O'Higgins's brother, was a medical doctor who imbued in his sons his dedication to the Fine Gael cause.

When they were young men, Michael and Tom O'Higgins — the latter a presidential candidate -were members of what were then known as the Blueshirts. Michael said he would always be proud to wear the blueshirt again if the need arose. I admire the way he said that so openly. Michael represented a Dáil constituency which also boasted Seán MacBride and Robert Briscoe as Deputies. Afterwards he was nominated to the Seanad. When inter-party talks began early in 1973 following Fianna Fáil's sudden decision to go to the country, O'Higgins, who was then a Senator, was involved in the drawing up of a common programme which helped to bring Fine Gael back to power for the first time since 1957. In 1973, Michael was also director of elections for Fine Gael. He was extremely active, busy and committed.

Michael was regarded as an excellent Leader of this House. When Fianna Fáil returned to Government in 1977, he retired from politics, as did his wife, Deputy Brigid Hogan-O'Higgins. Apparently they had a happy and fecund married life. They had nine children, none of whom became involved in national politics. Perhaps they became involved at local level. Michael and Brigid were a husband and wife team in Leinster House for a number of years. They raised a large family and were involved in farming.

Michael's death represents a real break with the past era for the Fine Gael Party because he was one of its seminal figures. His family was very involved in the party's foundation. He took a very strong line on issues in the Seanad. When Mary Robinson introduced her then controversial Bill, he was well able to put forward his point of view and debate it strongly. I meant to read that debate to get a flavour of it. His passing, and all the memories it evokes, will be very poignant for the Fine Gael Party. The example Michael set in this and the other House will serve as a headline for the Fine Gael Party for many years to come. He was a committed and devoted public servant and represented the people and this House in a fine manner. We extend our sympathy to his family and wish for the words of Members of Seanad Éireann to be passed on to them.

Mr. B. Hayes

Like the Leader, I express sympathy on behalf of my party to the O'Higgins family on the death of Michael O'Higgins. He was an outstanding parliamentarian, a devoted member of Fine Gael for all of his life and someone who gave of his best to public service in this country.

There are two features that mark the great contribution of the O'Higgins family to public life, the first of which is public service. Members of the family were never involved in public life for the money or to gain anything for themselves. They were a comfortable family and could simply have followed their own career paths. Michael was a well respected solicitor. The O'Higgins family had a great sense of public service to the country, which dated from the foundation of the State in the early 1920s. They also had a great sense of the rule of law. They believed that majority rule should prevail and that the parliamentary democracy established in this country in the early 1920s had to be nurtured, monitored and protected by those with the mandate of the people. This applied to all of the many O'Higgins politicians in our party. These two seminal features were part and parcel of the parliamentary career of Michael O'Higgins.

I did not know Michael O'Higgins but I knew his children very well. Hilary, who lives in my area, has helped our party and is a committed Fine Gael supporter. I attended school with Michael's three sons — Brian, Cahir and Mark — and got to know them very well. Those great features of public service and support for Irish parliamentary democracy exists throughout his entire family. Both he and Brigid imbued these in their children, together with a love of country and our democracy — for which his uncle gave his life in 1927. He laid down his life for his country to ensure peace would come to Ireland and to bring about the end of the Civil War.

As the Leader said, Michael O'Higgins came from a prominent political dynasty. His uncle was the great Kevin O'Higgins and he was the son of Dr. T. F. O'Higgins and the brother of Tom O'Higgins. It was an amazing occasion in 1948 when three of them, two brothers and one father, were elected to the Lower House. Another amazing feat, which is rare in Irish politics, was that Michael and his wife — Brigid Hogan-O'Higgins, who also came from a strong political dynasty and whose father, Patrick Hogan, was the State's first Minister for Agriculture — both served as Members of the Oireachtas at the same time. It must have been extremely difficult for them to raise a family in such circumstances.

We salute Michael O'Higgins's memory and say to his family, and his wife in particular, that they lived with a great Irish politician and a man who served his country well. It is also important to note that he had a happy and long retirement. As the Leader said, Michael left this House in 1977, having served as Leader of the House from 1973 to 1977. It was a fulfilling retirement of over 28 years. He died at the tender age of 87. He was able to enjoy the land, his family and his grandchildren into a ripe old age. That does not always happen in Irish politics. When people from all parties give up their life in politics after so many years, they often cannot enjoy their retirement and pass away early. On behalf of my party, I salute his memory and say to the members of his family that they have everything to be proud of in someone who served his country and his party well.

Mr. O’Toole

Those of us on the Independent benches wish to be associated with the condolences offered by the Leader of the House and the Leader of the Opposition. While none of us on these benches served with former SenatorO'Higgins it is easy for us, as the Leader of the Opposition said, to salute him and honour the commitment he and his family have given. It is ironic that he should die in the week that there was such a poor turnout in a democratic by-election given the manner in which he and his family, and families on both sides of the House during that period, gave their lives to establish a working safe democracy.

Former Senator O'Higgins decided, with his brother, to pursue a life of public representation despite threats against his family and the assassination of his uncle. This is the commitment to a young State that was required in order to give it legs, autonomy and independence. We offer our condolences to Michael's family and express our thanks for the many years of public service he and generations of his family have given.

Mr. Ryan

Growing up as I did in a staunchly Fianna Fáil household in Athy, County Kildare, only eight miles from Stradbally where the O'Higgins were well rooted——

Mr. Dooley

The Senator lost his way.

An Cathaoirleach

We are paying tributes.

Mr. Ryan

——one could not but be aware of the family's place in Irish politics, even if my awareness of its members' immensity was sometimes ascertained through fairly colourful descriptions of them. That was the nature of politics then and is probably still the case. The contribution of that family to Irish politics was immense. Former Senator O'Higgins was one of a family which made an enormous contribution. Before he retired I was aware of his significance as a figure in Irish politics when he was Leader of the House and before that I was aware of him as a member of a family that had contributed a great deal to Irish politics. There is an element here of a dynasty beginning to be left behind by time. A number of figures in the O'Higgins family contributed in the period from 1920 to 1932-3 to the cementing of democracy on both sides of the political divide and the willingness to abandon violence and accept democratic change. All members of the O'Higgins family in every generation contributed to this end. We in the Labour Party wish to be associated with the tributes to Michael J. O'Higgins. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.

Mr. Dardis

On behalf of the Progressive Democrats, I wish to be associated with the tributes to the memory of the late Michael J.O'Higgins. The contribution of the O'Higgins family to the State in politics and the law going back to the Irish Parliamentary Party in the House of Commons is remarkable, amounting to more than a century of continuity. I did not know Mr. O'Higgins well but I knew his brother, Tom, who could entertain us royally in the Members' bar and had many tales worth listening to. Being elected in 1948, together with his father and brother, must have been a matter of great pride for Michael. There are some echoes with our Leader's family history also in the more recent past.

That Michael's wife was a Deputy and that he carried on, almost uninterrupted in both Houses, for 30 years was a major achievement and contribution to political life. Michael was born in Crookstown, County Kildare, and would have been, as Senator Ryan mentioned, widely spoken about over an extended period. I also knew Michael as a good fisherman. People from the west and anybody who fishes the great lakes there would be aware of that.

There is a powerful lesson for us in the life of Michael O'Higgins and his family. It is not the first time we have mentioned it in the House and it has a modern relevance — in the face of assassination they committed themselves to the road of democracy.

I wish to extend our sympathy to Michael's wife and family.

Mr. U. Burke

I wish to be associated with the expressions of sympathy and tributes to the late Michael O'Higgins. He was a man of great integrity and an unassuming person with firm and consistent political views. Like many other politicians of his time, his political outlook was strongly influenced by the faith and philosophy of Christianity. Reference has been made to the fact that Michael and his family have served this country well, from the time of his late uncle, KevinO'Higgins in 1927, up to the present. I hope that Michael's passing is only a break in the representation at national level which, hopefully, the family will provide again.

Michael O'Higgins served on Dublin Corporation for ten years. He served both in Dáil Éireann and in Seanad Éireann. Three members of the family have represented Dáil constituencies. His wife, Brigid, represented western constituencies. The family have, therefore, represented a greater part of Ireland over the years than any other political dynasty.

Michael retired to live in the west of Ireland. As Senator Dardis said, Michael would have been seen over the years on the river or at the lakeside, enjoying his pastimes of shooting and fishing. During his time as Leader of this House one of his colleagues said in 1973 that MichaelO'Higgins would have thought it sufficient to give his electorate its reward through dedicated parliamentary service. That is the essence of Michael and his life as a politician. Those were different times. He believed his dedicated representation and his commitment to politics would have been sufficient to represent them.

He made many and varied contributions to debates in this House. One contribution made on 3 July 1974 is appropriate in the current climate. It was on a motion on the situation in Northern Ireland during which Michael said:

Everyone would accept that if coincidental with the setting up of the Executive in the North there had been a cessation of violence, there would not be any shadow or question of doubt about the success of the Executive and that we would have known in a comparatively short time, within six months of the setting up of the Executive, that we could all feel, North and South of the Border, that the direction of this country, North and South, was set on a path where there would be a spirit of co-operation, or partnership and above all a degree of peace in this country that we have not seen for some time. I do not say it was the only cause of the failure but I think an important cause of the failure was the fact that the violence continued and that that degree of support which it was necessary for all to give on the setting up of the Executive was withheld by those who indulged in violence.

It is significant that the parallel between then and now still exists. I wish to extend our deepest sympathy to his wife, Brigid, to his daughters, Maeve, Irene, Hilary and Deirdre and to his sons, Michael, Mark, Brian and Cahir.

Mr. Kitt

I wish to join the tributes to the late Senator Michael O'Higgins. He was an outstanding politician who came from a very distinguished political family. I had the honour to serve with his wife, Brigid Hogan-O'Higgins, when she was a Member of the Dáil, on the then innovative committee on wildlife in 1976.

The family tradition of public service was demonstrated during the Asian tsunami disaster after Christmas, when Michael's daughter Maeve remained on in the affected region to help the survivors. The O'Higgins family has shown great commitment to public service in many different parts of the country.

To Brigid and her family, I extend my sincere sympathy. Ar dheis láimh Dé go raibh a anam dílis.

An Cathaoirleach

I also join the tributes to the late Michael J. O'Higgins, former Deputy, Senator and Leader of the House. He was a member of a prominent political dynasty. The O'Higgins name has long been associated with politics. Along with his brother and father, they created a record when all three were elected to the Dáil at the same election. He and his wife created another record by being the only husband and wife team in the Dáil. It has been stated that the O'Higgins family served the State as parliamentarians and members of the legal profession. However, they also served the medical profession with great distinction. Michael's brother, Dr. Niall B. O'Higgins, was RMS at St. Joseph's Hospital in Limerick for 20 years. Dr. O'Higgins was an eminent physician who is still spoken of highly in the county.

I convey my sympathies to Michael's widow and family.

Members rose.