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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 3 Oct 2001

Vol. 541 No. 2

Death of Former Member: Expressions of Sympathy.

As Taoiseach and as leader of Fianna Fáil, I express my sincere sympathy on the death of Kevin Boland. To his wife Cis and children Brendán, Caitlín, Síle and Fachtna, and to his brothers and sisters I send my sympathies and the sympathy of my colleagues.

Kevin Boland came from an illustrious family that made an important contribution to the achievement and consolidation of Irish freedom, as we have it today. He was a patriot, a lover of the Irish language and a passionate Republican. He was a soldier of destiny who never shrank from what he believed that destiny should be. He was passionate about politics and he passionately cared about both his country and about Fianna Fáil which was in his blood.

Bhí grá mór ag Caomhaoin Ó Beoláin don Ghaeilge agus don tír seo. Níor chlaon sé ariamh ón tuairim a bhí aige faoi cad ba chóir a dhéanamh ar son Poblacht na hÉireann. Bhí dúil mhór aige sa phoblacht freisin agus d'oibrigh sé i rith a shaol chun a spriocanna polaitiúla a fháil amach.

Although known as Kevin Boland, it was as Caomhaoin Ó Beoláin that he signed official papers. He was a lover of the language and it played a large role in his identity and politics. Kevin Boland was the third generation of a family that was steeped in the Gaelic revival and republican politics. His grandfather James Boland was born in Manchester and was a member of the Fenians. He went on to become a founder of the GAA. Kevin's uncle Harry and father Gerry were major figures in their own right, whose reputations have stood the test of time. This was the political legacy inherited by Kevin Boland and it was a legacy – as he saw it – to which he was determined to remain true.

At this distance, many people will only remember the important events of 1969 and 1970 but Kevin Boland had a long ministerial career in the epoch-making series of Administrations of Eamon de Valera, Seán Lemass and Jack Lynch, leading into the 1960s . It was a career that began on his first day in the Dáil in 1957 when he was appointed Minister for Defence. From 1961, he was Minister for Social Welfare, showing a strong compassion for the less well off. His outlook was always to favour the have nots. He co-operated with the then Minister for Agriculture Charles Haughey in introducing the farmers' dole.

As Minister for Local Government, he was responsible for the first ever tenant purchase scheme to permit local authority tenants to purchase their homes. As a civil engineer by profession, he would have had a very good understanding of the construction industry. He was famous for his impatience with Dublin conservationists and titled landlords. These controversies contributed to the formation of a more balanced approach subsequently.

His personal life was characterised by his modest lifestyle which differed little from the working people and small farmers of County Dublin whom he represented. He had very austere views about political fund raising but he lived in a time when it was the Minister's prerogative to draw the electoral boundaries until the system was fundamentally reformed by Jack Lynch as Taoiseach in the late 1970s . He carried out these duties with characteristic efficiency. The events of 1969 and 1970 are well known. They are all the better known because Kevin wrote several intelligent and challenging books in the intervening years, setting out his views on these events as well as the wider issues relating to the state of the nation. It would be fair to say that he expressed some disillusionment not just with the Governments of his day, but even with the founder of his party. He acknowledged that he might not have fully grasped at the time the essential moderation and subtlety of de Valera's statesmanship in relation to Northern Ireland. It will be for history to be the final judge and for posterity to make up its mind on the prudence and realism of the positions of him and others when the Northern crisis broke.

Kevin Boland was the first to leave the stage. He left his Government and, honouring his party pledge, resigned his seat in Dáil Éireann on an issue of policy and as a matter of integrity. However, Kevin Boland in no sense left politics. He founded Aontacht Éireann, which was not a successful political venture, and long afterwards continued to fight for principles in which he believed, both politically and constitutionally, in a way that precluded compromise. His taking of a constitutional case in 1974 contributed to loss of confidence in the Sunningdale Agreement. His steadfast adherence to his belief was respected. Nevertheless, many of us feel a certain sadness that this gifted man, who had a long and positive ministerial career over 13 years, felt compelled to cut himself off from mainstream political life, thus limiting the possibility of being able to make further constructive contributions to public life. He argued that Fianna Fáil had left him rather than the other way around and he had a small but faithful band of followers who, for a time at least, shared his view, although most of them returned to the fold.

In the history of Dáil Éireann, only a handful have come into the House as Kevin Boland did by being appointed a Minister on his first day as a Deputy. None has left this House as he did, entirely of his own volition and in a blaze of controversy. Having fought all his life for what he believed, I trust he has now found his eternal and honourable rest. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.

A Cheann Comhairle, ar ócáid bhás Chaoimhghín Uí Bheoláin, ba mhaith liom ar mo chionn féin agus thar ceann mo pháirtí, Fine Gael, comhbhrón a dhéanamh lena chlann, lena bhean chéile, Cecilia, lena mhic, Breandán agus Fachtna, lena hiníonacha, Síle agus Caitlín, le ball eile da chlann, Oisín agus lena ioliomad comhghleacaithe agus cáirde.

B'fhear é Caoimhghín a chreid go láidir i bprionsabail na seirbhíse poiblí agus an phoblachtánachais. Ní bréag é a rá gur chuir sé na prionsabail sin chun tosaigh ar gach ní eile ina shaol, fiú ar a dhul chun cinn pearsanta i saol na polaitíochta. Ba idéalaí é. Cé gur fíor a rá nár aontaigh mé féin ná mo pháirtí le morán de na rudaí a chreid Caoimhin Ó Beoláin iontu, bhí meas ariamh agam ar a dhíogras.

Is faoi na staraithe a fágfar é, Caoimhghín Ó Beoláin a mheas ó thaobh an Stáit seo ach ba dheacair a shéanadh nach mbeidh a leithéid arís ann.

On the death of Kevin Boland, I wish to record the sympathy of Fine Gael to Kevin's wife, Cecilia, and to his extended circle of family, friends and admirers. It is only right in marking his passing that I should avoid any cant or hypocrisy. It will not surprise anybody in the House if I say that while there is much to admire in his extensive career, Kevin Boland's strongly held views on the development of relations between the two parts of the island and between Ireland and Britain would rarely have found favour with my party. It is fair to say that we held diametrically opposite views on most occasions on most things.

However, it is also appropriate that I join with former Taoiseach Liam Cosgrave in acknowledging the relentless and dogged commitment to the pursuit of his own ideological goals that Kevin Boland displayed throughout his parliamentary career. When that career was truncated by the events in 1970 that are all too well documented, Kevin Boland continued to pursue his ideals outside the House. It was rare to come across such a committed idealist who is neither deflected nor deterred by such a major setback. For that alone, he must be admired and his contribution acknowledged. If political discourse is enhanced by the contest of ideas, then public life will be poorer for the loss of Kevin Boland's great honesty and integrity in advancing his distinctive republican beliefs. Ar dheis láimh Dé go raibh a anam.

On behalf of the Labour Party, I wish to extend to the Boland family and particularly to Kevin Boland's widow, Cecilia, our sincere sympathies on the death of the former politician, Member of the House and Minister. Those of us who are old enough, or perhaps young enough, to remember Kevin Boland as I do inside and outside the House recall somebody who was a passionate and ardent nationalist. I would have disputed his interpretation of republicanism, but nobody could dispute his absolute commitment and integrity regarding the things in which he believed.

This is not the time or the place to give an evaluation of somebody's political career or to point to the areas where there would have been consistent and considerable difference. In marking the passing of an elected representative of the people in this Republic, we should pay particular tribute to the scale and depth of his feeling and to the extent of his integrity – an integrity that was not emulated by others in his party at the time. When he found himself in conflict with, on the one hand, the dictates of the party Whip and, on the other, his conscience, he chose not just to resign from the parliamentary party but to resign from the House. Of all the things that will characterise Kevin Boland's commitment to the integrity of politics, that event has no emulation or copy. On behalf of the Labour Party, I extend our condolences to his extended family.

On behalf of the Green Party, I express our sincere sympathy to the family of Kevin Boland. He was a product of the War of Independence and the Civil War. He was a deep green republican, perhaps green tooth and claw. Some would say that he was uncompromising, but equally it could be said that he was a man of principle. When he resigned from Cabinet, it was on a matter of principle. There was a certain bitterness that others who were part of that scenario did not join his party later. There is a famous quote from Mr. Haughey who said that Mr. Boland fought for the sake of fighting, while he fought to win. This sums up his approach to politics.

My only encounter with Mr. Boland was during the visit of Prince Charles to Dublin. I vividly recall an elderly gentleman screaming abuse at us in the Mansion House from across the road. I was told that he was the former Minister, Mr. Boland. I did not take it badly. It is in everybody's interest to have protests. It was his democratic right to protest and he was a person of principle despite his flaws – we all have flaws. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam uasal.

I also wish to offer my sympathy and the sympathy of my organisation to the Boland family on the death of Kevin Boland. Nobody could doubt his integrity and he gave up everything as far as the political scene was concerned for what he felt to be the truth at the time. He did not resign from the parliamentary party or give up his ministerial post because he had sympathy for Neil Blaney or Charles Haughey. He resigned because he knew the truth from the Cabinet table.

The media and others have said that he resigned in sympathy, but if Neil Blaney or Charles Haughey had been Taoiseach at the time, he would have done the same thing. He felt so strongly about it that he gave up his three posts in the name of integrity. He took part in a by-election that he knew he could not win, although he had been a Member of the House. He did not win and he was in the wilderness until his death. I offer my sympathy and the sympathy of our organisation to his family. I know where his heart lay in relation to the nationalist question. The likes of Kevin Boland will not be seen in the House again and certainly not at the moment.

Ba mhaith liom mo chomhbhrón agus comhbhrón mo phairtí, Sinn Féin, a ghabháil le bean Chaoimhghín Uí Bheoláin agus lena theaghlach.

I wish to record my sympathy and the sympathy of Sinn Féin to the wife, sons and daughters of the late Caoimhghín Ó Beoláin. He was a man of strong principle and a lover of the Irish language and Gaelic games. Caoimhghín Ó Beoláin, Kevin Boland, was a man admired and respected by nationalist and republican people throughout the island of Ireland, not least of all by people in the Border counties with whom he associated over a long and protracted campaign in the pursuit of the reopening of closed cross-Border roads. His appearance at these events and his support, encouragement and camaraderie with many people who were not from the traditionalist activist community meant so much and was greatly appreciated.

Kevin Boland, whom I had the pleasure to meet on a number of occasions and with whom I always enjoyed conversation and discussion, was a gentleman of generous nature. He was of a kind disposition, but he was also fierce in his commitment to his beliefs, something he recorded time after time. He was a man to be respected and admired.

On my behalf and on behalf of Sinn Féin, I record my sympathy not only to his wife and children, but to his brother and all the extended Boland family. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.

Members rose.

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