I understand that, before the Order of Business, there will be an expression of sympathy on the death of a former Member of the House.
Death of Former Member. - Expression of Sympathy.
I formally propose a vote of sympathy to the widow and family of the late Senator Willie O'Brien. I wish to extend to his widow Philomena and daughters the sympathy of the House.
On behalf of the Fine Gael Party I join in the vote of sympathy to the family of the late Willie O'Brien. I had the honour and pleasure to serve with Willie O'Brien in the Lower House for a number of years. He was a Member of both Houses. Willie O'Brien was a man who received little formal education but he had tremendous intelligence and common sense as well as a great dedication to his own county of Limerick. He had a great respect for the traditions of this House and gave total loyalty to the party which he served so well over such a long period. Willie O'Brien had an infectious enthusiasm for anything he did and a tremendous sense of humour. He greatly enjoyed the simple things of life, including hurling, a game of cards and the company of others. He was a tremendous practical joker and many of his colleagues suffered — gently but with a little barb — as a result of some of his elaborate and very successful practical jokes.
Willie O'Brien did great service to this country when he — an unlikely person to get the job — chaired the all-party committee on marriage breakdown in the 1980s. He brought to that difficult task a great sense of diplomacy, bringing together different points of view and producing a wise report which was, in many ways, ahead of its time. That was one of his greatest contributions.
Most of all, those of us who knew Willie O'Brien will remember him as a warm, enthusiastic person of great good humour, a person of loyalty above all else to his party, to his county and to his country. On behalf of my colleagues I extend our deepest heartfelt sympathy to his widow and family.
As you know it is traditional that we call party leaders and, as I have done in the past, people who are from the county of the deceased. I call on Senator O'Toole.
I am not a party leader, but we keep reshuffling our benches.
Mr. Naughten
That is the day and age we are in.
But you are available.
Yes, exactly — trying to reflect changes in other places. We will be having a Front Bench meeting later on this afternoon to arrange things.
On a serious note, none of us on the Independent benches had the experience of working with Willie O'Brien but we would like to be associated with the vote of sympathy to his family. We wish to recognise also the input made by politicians of any hue — Independent or party members — to Irish politics. We are happy to be associated with the vote of sympathy and would like that to be conveyed to his family.
On behalf of the Labour Party, both nationally and locally, we send our deepest sympathy to the family of Willie O'Brien. As Senator Manning said, Willie O'Brien was a great man who worked hard for his constitutents. He was a man whom I had the pleasure of knowing. I worked for a period in Limerick County Council and met him there — on the other side of the fence as it were. He was a gentleman.
In extending our sympathy to the family, we must also extend our sympathy to the Fine Gael Party and in particular to Senator Dan Neville who was a particularly good friend of his.
On behalf of the Progressive Democrats I wish to join in the tributes paid to the late Willie O'Brien, to extend our sympathy to his widow and daughters and to the Fine Gael party. He dedicated his life to serving the people of his constituency at county council level, in this House and in the other House. His death is deeply regretted by everybody who knew him.
Senator Lanigan, I should not call you but you indicated that you wish to speak.
I am speaking because the late Willie O'Brien worked with my father in CIE in Limerick. He was an excellent Member of this House and the other House. He was a superb public representative. I do not wish to be facetious but I met Willie at the funeral of a cousin of mine one day and I am sure that Willie enjoyed it as much as I did. As we walked into the church he asked me why I was there. I was at that funeral because a cousin of my mother's was related to Sylvie Barrett; Willie's wife was related to Donal Carey, so there was an amalgam of political influences at the funeral. Willie stood for everything that was good in Irish politics and in Irish life and he will be missed.
I wish to pay my tribute to the late Willie O'Brien and to convey my sympathy to his wife, Phil, and his family, Annette, Mary and Mary Rose. Willie O'Brien was a Member of this House from 1969 to 1977 and at one election got two quotas on the Labour panel; he was a Member of the other House from 1977 to 1987. He was a member of Limerick County Council from 1960 to 1989 and was also a member of the Mid-Western Health Board on several occasions. He was a most professional politician. He had a great sense of what people felt, how the grassroots in his constituency felt and he also knew how State institutions should respond to the needs of his constituents.
He was a most caring and compassionate person. He worked very hard and had great concern for the underprivileged; he did everything he could to assist them. He was a very public man. He enjoyed meetings; he enjoyed the banter of the council and, as Leader of the Fine Gael group for many years on that council, did excellent work and really enjoyed that type of work. He treated everybody equally. He treated the very poor the same as the captains of industry. It did not matter what colour, creed or politics a person was, Willie always wanted to work for everybody.
He was, as Senator Manning said, a very witty person. He enjoyed the practical jokes, he enjoyed parties of all types. He was always the life and soul of every party. As Senator Manning says, in the mid-1980s he was asked by his great friend, Dr. Garret FitzGerald, the then Taoiseach, to chair the committee on marital breakdown and did excellent work.
He was, above all, a great family man. It is difficult sometimes for politicians to pay attention to their families, as we all know, but Willie was, above all, very close to his family. He cared about them and was always with them. As I said, he was a very friendly man and enjoyed company; he enjoyed social occasions. I was honoured since my early teens to be a very close friend of his. He has been a great influence in my life, especially in the area of political activity.
I again wish to convey our sympathy to Phil, Annette, Mary and Mary Rose. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a h-anam dílis.
I would like to be associated with the vote of sympathy to the family of the late Willie O'Brien. I knew him before anyone in this House did. We were not close in age but I remember playing against him on the hurling field. Through our association with the GAA we developed a great friendship. Despite our different political persuasions, we always maintained a good friendship.
I was elected to the Seanad in 1977 and Willie O'Brien was elected to the Dáil. He was a gentleman, a great politician and loyal to his friends. I wish to convey my sympathy to his widow and family.
I extend my sympathies to the family of Willie O'Brien who I knew very well. I had many chats with him and always enjoyed his company immensely. Again, I extend my sympathies to his family and to the Fine Gael Party.
Members rose in their places.