It is hard to think that Michael Moynihan is no longer with us. He was an extraordinary man. As the House will know, he died early yesterday morning having been ill for some time. I had the honour to be with him on Monday morning when I visited Killarney to preside over the selection convention for his daughter, Deputy Breda Moynihan-Cronin. When she called me she said he hung on until the end to make sure that the convention would go well and that everything would be right.
Michael Moynihan was a giant of a man, in stature and in strength, in compassion and commitment and in his unrelenting dedication to the service of the people of his beloved south Kerry. To many in this House, he was an extraordinary man of strength and tenacity. He first stood for election in 1954 and thereafter in 1957, 1961 and 1965. He narrowly lost a by-election in 1966 and understandably stepped aside in 1969. He fought again in 1973 and did not succeed in being elected to this House until 1981. Having heard that, this House will know the strength and tenacity of his determination to serve the people of south Kerry. Mike Moynihan, as he was known in his native Kerry, built the Labour Party around the Labour movement in that part of the country. At the selection convention one of his long-time comrades, Pat O'Leary, spoke of how he organised the workers in the small creameries characteristic of agriculture during the 1940s and 1950s. They were on their knees and forced to work six and a half days a week with no over-time, holiday pay or any of the benefits we now take for granted. All of those things had to be wrung from farmers who, in their conservatism, denounced him as a dangerous communist radical who would upset the order of the entire country, let alone the profits and balance sheets of their beloved creameries. He won through and gained the respect and affection of his people.
Had he been allowed to serve on the county council, a right denied him as a psychiatric nurse until the establishment of the health boards meant he was no longer technically an employee of the council, he would doubtless have entered this House sooner. Following his arrival in this House he was appointed Minister of State with responsibility for tourism. Anybody who worked with him, or learned of and saw his dedication in promoting the interests of Kerry, will agree that he was a wonderful man.
To his wife, Mai, his constant companion, political associate and tireless worker, I extend our deepest sympathies. To his two daughters, Catherine and Breeda, and his three sons, Maurice, John and Mike, on behalf of the Labour Party, we also extend our deepest condolences. We offer heartfelt thanks for a life of service, selflessly given in the interests of the people of Kerry who loved him so much and whom he loved equally.