I will begin the expressions of sympathy for our late friend and colleague, former Senator Terry Brennan, by welcoming Aileen, Tanya, David and Bob, who is watching from the United States. I apologise to Bob, because, as Terry would have been aware, sometimes in a democracy important occasions like this, when we remember a colleague who has gone from us, can be delayed. Tanya is joined by Aoife, Megan and Oran, David is here with Tadgh and close friend, John Meehan. Councillor Peter Savage is here with us. Peter served with Terry for so long and soldiered alongside him in Carlingford and in the Dundalk electoral area. You are all most welcome here today to remember our friend and colleague, who was a great part of this institution. We remember him as a legislator, a colleague and a friend. I ask members to be upstanding for a minute's silence.
Death of Former Member: Expressions of Sympathy
There is one small matter to address before we begin this very important and poignant session. I welcome our colleague, Senator Clonan, and his colleagues from Technological University Dublin to the Gallery. It is great to have them with us.
I will begin by joining with the Cathaoirleach, colleagues who are in the House now and those who had to depart for other business in welcoming Aileen, Tanya, David and Bobby, who is with us online through the marvels of modern technology, to the House. I also welcome to the Gallery: the former councillor, Peter Savage; our former colleague, Brian Walsh, who was a very good friend of the former Senator, Terry Brennan; Deputy Carey, who was also a very close friend; and Councillor Anna Grainger, another friend of the late Senator.
Terry spent five years as a Member of this House from 2011 to 2016, having been elected to the Seanad on the labour panel in April 2011. He as a member of Louth County Council from 1985 until 2011, representing the Dundalk-Carlingford area. The former Senator's very dear friend, and a friend of the family for years, is going to speak in a moment. I will not intrude on that speech other than to say that Terry was an extraordinarily hard-working public representative. He was legendary in County Louth for his work and his dedication to constituents and communities. He was a highly respected and hard-working member of Louth County Council. It was a great privilege to have served here at the same time as him. His affability and conviviality were legendary and his patriotism, integrity and commitment to the national good were supreme and the predominant themes of his life. I could talk about Terry for an hour. Every one of us could. However, it would be inappropriate for me to do so now. It is more appropriate for me to call on a lifelong family friend whose family was bonded with the former Senator's for years, Senator McGahon, to say what we all want said.
I have to admit, after two years in the Oireachtas, this is certainly a speech I am quite nervous to make. There is certainly no pressure. I first met Terry Brennan when I was nine years of age when he was running alongside my dad in the 1999 local elections. Terry was the scourge of any Fine Gael Dundalk candidate because, even though he was from the rural part of the constituency in Carlingford, he always got 350 to 400 votes in Dundalk town, 25 km away. He was able to get that vote because he knew absolutely everybody. Even to this day, in doing the job I do, not a week or a month passes in which Terry Brennan's name is not mentioned in some way, shape or form. When I ran for the Seanad in 2020, every second councillor asked me how Terry was. This was just a few months before he sadly passed away.
Terry was famous for a number of things, one of which was politics. Outside of that was his football career. Before today's debate, I spoke to Jim Thornton in Greenore, an expert on the GAA and Terry's beloved Cooley Kickhams, and he outlined a couple of things to me. These are Jim's words, not mine. He said that, as a forward, Terry was a very skilful left-footed player and a great team player rather than an individual. He always put the team ahead of his own personal glory on the pitch. Peter Savage might correct me if I am wrong but I believe Terry was captain of the side that won the 1973 Louth senior championship. Mr. Thornton said that, while Terry did not have an intercounty career, he should have had because he was absolutely up to the standard of County Louth footballers in the 1970s. He was a very mobile and very capable of looking after himself on the football pitch. I know it was the same for politics. He was very well capable of looking after himself there.
He first ran for Louth County Council in 1985. In that election, the Cooley area was a three-seat electoral area. He was up against Peter Savage, who is sitting in the Gallery now, and a famous Fine Gael councillor, Tommy Elmore, who had been a councillor for 20 or 25 years. The two of them went at it hammer and tongs and increased the Fine Gael vote by more than ever before in that 1985 election. Terry pipped Tommy Elmore to the post and went on to serve as a member of Louth County Council for 26 years, being re-elected in 1991, 1999, 2004 and 2009. He ran for the Dáil in 1997 and 2002. He was very unlucky that, when an opportunity opened up for him, it was in 2002 because that was one of the worst elections for Fine Gael in recent memory. It was unlucky that his opportunity to take the national stage in Dáil Éireann was stifled by the very poor election result of Fine Gael that time around.
Around 2004, Terry retired from the ESB and, in the 2004 election, he got approximately 850 first-preference votes. He then acted as a full-time councillor for the five years to 2009 and doubled his vote from 850 to 1,450. In the local elections in 2019, when I was running for re-election, I was watching the tallies come out and, as the votes came in, I saw that the tallies had me at 1,470. I was delighted to have beaten Terry Brennan's vote because he had the highest vote ever for Fine Gael in the north Louth electoral area, an electoral area that is, to be straight about it, not very friendly to Fine Gael for a couple of reasons, mainly because Peter Savage cleaned up there for 30 years through his ability as a county councillor. It turns out I had not beaten Terry's vote. Someone had given me the wrong tally count. I had got 80 votes in a box that did not exist so, unfortunately, I did not beat him. I believe that no one will and that his record for a Fine Gael vote in the north Louth area will stand the test of time.
I will speak briefly to Terry's political friendship with Peter Savage. Peter was first elected in 1974. The way those on the Cooley Peninsula always voted was to give their number one to Brennan and their number two to Savage or their number one to Savage and their number two to Brennan. It crossed party political lines. Despite living less than 2 km apart, the two were able to get 1,300, 1,400 or 1,500 votes every election. It was absolutely incredible. There is not one person on the Cooley Peninsula who does not owe their planning permission to either Terry Brennan or Peter Savage. Perhaps that was the key to their having electoral success for so long. I welcome Terry's family here today.
They have become very good friends of mine in recent years and have been good to me throughout my time in politics. That friendship goes a lot further back, particularly through my uncle, the late Brendan McGahon, who ran with Terry in the 1997 general election. They were very firm friends for a very long time and I have a lovely picture on my phone of the two of them having lunch in the Ballymascanlon House Hotel in 2017, just before my uncle passed away.
It is so great to have Terry's family here. He had a wonderful five years here and it was a great way to top off a stellar political career at local level. It is great to have his friends here, including former Deputy Brian Walsh and Deputy Carey. His other friends are watching, including former Minister of State, Paudie Coffey, former Deputy Noel Coonan and a lot of people I met at his funeral who are very close to him. It is a pity Bobby could not be here. I know he is watching from Augusta, where Terry liked to visit regularly. A joke was made earlier that they used to see Terry on the TV in Augusta because he was so well-positioned every time. It is great to have Tanya and David here and, in particular, it is great to have Aileen, Terry's widow, here. It is great to have Tadhg, David's son, here, and Terry's three grandchildren, who I perhaps know the best, Aoife, Megan and Oran, who are children of Tanya and Paddy. I have not got to know Tadgh yet, but when he is 18 and he is able to vote I definitely will. I can see so many traits of their grandfather's personality in Aoife, Oran and Megan in so many different ways. I am utterly convinced that his legacy lives on and will live on within the Fine Gael family in the electorate of Dundalk, Carlingford and north Louth and in this House. They broke the mould when they made Terry Brennan.
I thank Senator McGahon for that. His knowledge of Terry and the families is so great. Terry was universally popular in his House. To speak on behalf of the Fianna Fáil grouping is a man who served with Terry, Senator O'Sullivan.
I am pleased to be able to represent my party to pay a well-deserved tribute to a great friend and colleague, former Senator Terry Brennan. I welcome Aileen and all of Terry's family and friends to the Chamber. It is a sad occasion but it is a proud one as well.
Everyone who met Terry liked and admired him. He had a terrific personality and he was a loyal and dependable man. Terry and I were first elected as councillors on the same day in 1985. There are not too many of the class of 1985 still in harness but we became fast friends from the first day we met. Terry was an outstanding councillor and was well known throughout the country, not only in County Louth. As Senator McGahon has pointed out, he was a great vote-getter and a celebrity, even as a councillor. There were a lot of celebrity councillors going around at the time but Terry topped them all. He was also a fervent trade unionist through his work in the Electrical Trades Union, which stood to him later on when it came to running for the Seanad.
Terry had a great pride in his county and in his hometown of Carlingford. There used to be an annual heritage conference in that beautiful spot and Terry and his great friend, former Councillor Peter Savage, were great ambassadors for the region, encouraging councillors from all over Ireland to spend an enjoyable few days with them by the sea. Terry had a knowledge about things that was extraordinary, including on politics, history, sport and business. He had a great curiosity about all these and he wanted to learn something new every day. He was experienced in many walks of life and he was a great man to go to for advice. It did not matter whether you were Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil or whatever, Terry would put you right if he could and by all signs he was loved by all sides in this House and the Lower House.
Terry's abiding political concern was peace on this island. Like his late colleague, Brendan McGahon, Terry had no truck with the men of violence and he was fearless in that regard, for which I admired him greatly. The Good Friday Agreement was his touchstone, and he did what he could to promote peace and understanding with those of a different tradition. His other major priority was his family, including his loving wife, Aileen, and Tanya, David and Bobby. Aileen, Tanya and David are with us and I know Bobby is looking in. Terry always brought them into the conversation and he had tremendous pride in all of them. He especially looked forward to his annual trip, as Senator McGahon mentioned, to the Masters Tournament in Georgia. After a hectic week here he always looked forward to going home, back to Aileen and the family. Terry was a loyal Fine Gael man. He supported the current leader faithfully and he had a special relationship with former Taoiseach, Enda Kenny. They enjoyed each other’s company and they were lifelong friends.
Terry and I had a few bad habits; we drank, smoked and backed horses. Even though we were on the same electoral panel for the Seanad, we got on like a house on fire. My fondest memory of Terry was the time he and I and his great friend, former Senator Pat O’Neill from Kilkenny, went to Japan on a parliamentary trip. What happened in Japan stays in Japan but all I can say is we applied ourselves assiduously to our duties but we also managed to have great fun. Terry totally endeared himself to our Japanese hosts. On a personal note, I found Terry to be a real friend when I needed one. At a time when I was not at all well, he could not do enough to encourage and assist me in every way possible. I would like his family to know just how much his support meant to me and to my wife, Madeleine, and family. Ar dheis lámh Dé go raibh a anam dílis.
I thank the Senator for that beautiful tribute.
My words will be brief, following on from the excellent and well-deserved tributes from my colleagues, Senators McGahon and O'Sullivan. I would also like, on behalf of my group, and personally, to extend my sympathies to Aileen and all the family. I, too, had the privilege of serving alongside Terry during that term from 2011 to 2016. In rising to pay tribute to a person whom I got to like very much, I am also paying tribute to him on behalf of another family member who served during that term, my first cousin, former Senator Michael Mullins of the Fine Gael Party, who had great affection and respect for Terry and, like myself, was sorry to learn of his passing. Michael sends his sympathy to the family and he is sorry he cannot be here.
There is not much I can add to what has already been said about Terry except to say I was planning to observe that if he has the same vantage point in heaven on us here that he appeared to have on the golf at Augusta on several occasions, then we have a good intercessor in a high place. I was also aware of his political ecumenism and his friendship with former Councillor Savage, who I am glad to see here. My memory of him is of those social times when, after the business was done here, we would find ourselves in the Leinster House Member's Restaurant, for example, for a bite to eat and so on. I was always taken by his clubbability, his friendly nature and his interest in conversation. You could easily see he had the gift of and for friendship, and that is a gift all of us are blessed to have if we have it.
I join colleagues in their expressions of sympathy to Terry's clan who are with us today. I am relative newcomer to the Seanad and came here in 2016, so unfortunately I did not have the pleasure to meet Terry and know his work in this institution. Regardless of your political party, all of us can say that once you have served in the Seanad, there is a great element of kinship and these statements are always important because they give Members like ourselves, who are relatively new to the institution, an awareness, understanding and appreciation for the people who served before us and what they contributed.
In advance of today's statements I had a look over the record of the Seanad to get a bit of an insight into Terry.
There were three or four issues that jumped out at me straight away, as I took pot luck and read different statements from him. Those issues were tourism, sport, planning and County Louth. All of these are very admirable issues to work hard on.
I also saw from the Seanad record gur Gaeilgeoir go smior ab ea Terry fosta, gur bhain sé úsáid as an nGaeilge agus gur chuir cé an Ghaeilge chun tosaigh san áit seo. When we pass on there is an old saying in Irish, "go bhfuilimid imithe ar Shlí na Fírinne", that we are gone on the way or the path of truth. We had a wonderful opportunity today, albeit that is a sad occasion for Terry's family, friends and Fine Gael colleagues, to express some truth and remember the truth about Terry Brennan as a Senator and as a man.
Senator Ó Donnghaile may be a relative newcomer to Seanad Éireann but Comhaontas Glas, or the Green Party, is brand new to it. This is our first time as a separate grouping in the Chamber. The opening words of Senators McGahern and O'Sullivan, who are from the two big parties that have been around since the foundation of the State, aptly summed up the late Senator Brennan. They were said so eloquently and were full of sincerity and it is very hard to follow on from them because they encapsulated everything I have heard about the late Senator Brennan. I did not have the pleasure of meeting him personally but I am a proud native of Carrickmacross, which is not 100 miles away. This means that I would have subscribed to and read The Argus and The Democrat on a weekly basis, in which the Brennan and Savage names featured a lot. I was one of the readers of the political pages and they certainly dominated them. In fact, they sounded like a very successful New York law firm, Savage and Brennan.
Terry ran a lean, mean political machine, as Senator O'Sullivan said. The latter is from the kingdom of Kerry but there are other great kingdoms. The kingdom of Cooley is one that springs to mind. That was a kingdom in which one would not get through or make political progress without having the imprimatur or the blessing of the Brennans of Cooley. I say that on the basis of the wonderful words of respect of my fellow Senators have uttered. I also have a very direct and reliable source in former councillor and former Senator, as well as Dundalk native, Mr. Mark Deary, who holds the late Senator Brennan in the highest regard. He spoke of his decorum and his image, which is very important in local politics and of the respect we should inculcate as role models and leaders. Terry Brennan had that in bucketfuls. He was also generous with his time and shared his wisdom with my very good friend Mark Deary on more than one occasion.
One of the most important lessons for me in this, my first time in the Seanad, is the remarkably constructive relationship between the two big tribes of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. They have come from very separate constituencies but at a time when we needed to form a Government, they stepped up and put aside their differences. Those differences were amplified for me when I looked at old Dáil reports of proceedings around the time of the enactment of the Republic of Ireland Act in 1948. It was a hostile political environment in Ireland. There was an awful lot of sniping at one another and political point scoring, but during the time of Brexit and the pandemic, those two big democratic tribes managed to bury their differences and work day in, day out, together. I know they are separate and are quite competitive but they have put the nation and the State first, or at least that is what my first-hand experience of these two big political parties tells me. I am saying all this because a precursor to those two parties forming that historic coalition was to be seen throughout Ireland at local government level, the heart beat of Ireland. I personally saw co-operation between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael when it came to putting counties first. That was very prescient and a precursor to what was to happen. It was almost like Sunningdale for slow learners, the second time around because that was happening at local government level and was epitomised by the co-operation between councillors Savage and Brennan in the chamber of Louth County Council. They put Louth first at all times. Now we have two big parties that are extremely competitive at times, but they are putting their country first. I want to acknowledge that.
Politics takes a battering from time to time but the world that he inhabited and the life that the late Senator Brennan lived is testament to the high regard in which he was held. He is an inspiration to those who may wish to serve in politics now or in the future. He set a standard that we should all strive to reach as public representatives, the Brennan test. When all our careers are over, I hope we will have taken a leaf out of the book of the life of that public servant, councillor and Senator, Terry Brennan. I was a councillor in Monaghan for many years and I understand the importance of local government. The standard set by the late Terry Brennan is the one that we should all strive to reach.
That is a very salutary recommendation. I now call the Leader, Senator Doherty.
On behalf of my colleagues in the Fine Gael group, I welcome the family of Aileen and Terry Brennan to the Seanad. It is fair to say that Terry was one of those Fine Gael people who ate, slept and drank politics. It was his whole life and he really loved it. Other colleagues have spoken about his long dedicated and illustrious career at local government level, at the European Council of Representatives, which I know he loved, and here in the Seanad and their plaudits are so well deserved. Often on occasions like this we talk about what people did or said but I want to touch on how Terry made me feel. There is a great saying by Ms Maya Angelou that I love: "people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." I arrived here in 2011 with Terry Brennan. Even though there was not a huge difference in our ages, he was a seasoned politician and I was practically brand new. I was afraid of my own shadow, afraid to say the wrong thing, keen as mustard to get on but constantly second-guessing myself. Terry saw the nervousness and anxiousness and just swooped in and made sure he was there. He was always there. He made me feel good about myself when I did the right thing and picked me up by the boots when I made mistakes. He praised me and encouraged me to go on further. The nicest text that I ever got from him was on the day I was appointed to Cabinet. He was probably more pleased for me than I was for myself. That was the measure of the man. When he got you, he had your back and he always looked after you. He was consistent, not just in the five years that he was here but afterwards too. He would text me if he heard me on the radio, or on LMFM. He was a really good mentor and a really wise advisor and for that I will always be grateful. I know he was our guests' dad, grandad and husband but to us, he was our friend, colleague and mentor.
Most of all, Terry was a staunch Fine Gaeler. He was a bit like my father in that regard. It did not matter what Fine Gael did, he would always make excuses for the party. There were days when he picked us up by the boots and I know he his watching us now. On good days, he will praise us and on bad days he will still pick us up by the boots and root for us. I thank our guests for coming and for sharing Terry Brennan with us.
It is very hard to follow some of the great contributions. We all knew Terry Brennan as a friend. He had no enemies and that can be seen from all the contributions made here today. Terry Brennan had no enemies at all; he had all friends.
There were three things Terry tended to speak about in the House. One was that he must have scored ten or 15 points in every match he played for Cooley. The second was how he played at centre court in Wimbledon and third was his great love of going to Augusta. He used to grig us all when he came back and even grig us while he was there. He would send us text messages to say he was on the 13th hole or the famous par three hole on Augusta National. I know Bobby is looking in.
Aileen is here with her family. We missed a great friend when Terry died. I met Terry in the mid-1980s. I canvassed him on numerous occasions when running for the Seanad and then he went on the Seanad campaign himself. I met him once when he was in hospital. He did not tell many people where he was but he texted or rang me to tell me. I forget whether it was Navan or Drogheda but I went to see him. He was always very courteous.
He loved Cooley, Carlingford and County Louth and he loved his family. He had a great affection for his ally and, I suppose, competitor, Councillor Peter Savage, and it is great to see him here today. Peter must be a real god in that part of the world because Terry would always say "Peter Savage said" and that went a long way not only with Terry but also to whoever he was telling.
I happened to be the leader of the delegation to Japan that Senator O'Sullivan mentioned. I did not realise at the time that Terry had a great fondness for sushi. I do not know whether he got it in Carlingford. We met the former Prime Minister who has now gone to his eternal reward, Shinzo Abe. Terry made a few great contributions at the meeting about how fast the trains, which we had been on, went and how they were not only on time to the minute but to the second. It was a great experience and a trip I will always remember. Terry was a big part of the trip, he made us all very welcome and he was great in his support for us.
It is great to see Deputy Carey here and former Deputy Brian Walsh, who were great friends of Terry Brennan. They have shown their appreciation by being here today. It goes to show the friends Terry had. We all appreciated him and we wish the family well. We are delighted to see them in the Chamber today.
To Terry's family, my deepest sympathies are with them. I did not know Terry like many of my colleagues in the House. I only met him in 2014 after a rather controversial by-election where I stole a Fine Gael seat. When I was moving into my office, Terry was one of the first people to come in and congratulate me. It was rather strange because I expected a bit of hostility and I found there was none. Politicians are odd people. When the battle is over, it is over and it is time to move on.
I have one particular story about Terry and his generosity. I was elected onto the cultural and educational panel. We were in the Dáil bar one night. Senator O'Sullivan was there as were Terry and Senator Maurice Cummins. The three boys set about explaining to me how I was on the wrong panel if I wanted to be re-elected and that I needed to move from the cultural and educational panel onto the labour panel. Terry, being a great trade unionist, was explaining to me how with my background in trade unionism, I would have no difficulty getting the nomination. We had a great chat that night and, several times over the coming year, Terry would ask had I done anything about getting that nomination and how I would need to be prepared for the next election. So I did move onto the labour panel and the election came. I won the seat and Terry lost his.
So it was Terry's fault.
He met me and told me, "If I knew what was going to happen, there is no way that you and I would have ever had that conversation. The divil blast you anyway. I lost my seat to you." He was a generous man and a decent man. I will always remember his big, warm smile. He was a lovely man. I am sure the family's hearts are broken. May he rest in peace.
I am pleased to have the opportunity to contribute to the fantastic tributes made by my colleagues. Terry and I came from different parties. Unfortunately, I did not have the pleasure of serving with him in the Seanad. We had mutual friends, such as Brian Walsh in Galway and Deputy Carey from the Banner. He visited our city on many occasions. I was lucky enough to have been elected to this House in 2020 and regret that I did not have the opportunity to serve with Terry because he is fondly remembered here. Speaking to staff and Members, it is very clear he was held in the highest regard and is remembered as a thoroughly decent man. He was respected across the political divide. One of his closest friends was my party colleague and former Fianna Fáil councillor, Peter Savage. They served together for many years, first on Louth County Council.
As others have outlined, Terry had a fantastic love of sport, particularly the GAA, and was the Government spokesperson in the Seanad on sport during his time here. He also claimed he played in the centre court at Wimbledon, and I took him at his word on that.
Speaking to him, one of his finest political memories was when he accompanied the then Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, to the White House and met President Barack Obama. I think he was really proud of that. He was on that trip with then Deputy Brian Walsh. It was a fantastic honour and one Terry well deserved.
He had a great fondness for the Irish language and proudly wore a fáinne on his lapel. His staff told me he once went on an Irish language refresher course. A number of colleagues, including Gerry Adams, were on the course. I suppose they agreed to differ on a number of issues. He loved the language and continuously promoted it and backed it up.
As others have noted, his love was his wife, Aileen and their three kids. He spoke about his children's achievements in business and in life. On my own behalf and that of all the Galwegians who knew Terry and got to know him through Brian, Joe, Seán and others, I offer Terry's family, many friends and his colleagues here in Leinster House my deepest sympathies on their sad loss.
To quote the great man himself: there was only one Scobe. That was certainly the case. There was only one Scobe. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.
I welcome Terry's family to the Gallery and thank them for being here. He would be very proud of the fact we are celebrating his life today. Senator McGahon gave a very eloquent and touching tribute for which I thank him most sincerely.
Terry Brennan was a friend and a colleague, but above all he was a person you were proud to say you served with. For many of us in the period of 2011 to 2016 there were difficult decisions made, but the Scobe stood tall and held the line with all of us. In particular, when I came out as a gay man, he was one of the first to ring me on that Monday morning. When I came into Leinster House on Tuesday, I will never forget his absolutely wonderful handshake - those of us who knew the Scobe know he had a handshake like a vice grip - and how he said, “Wherever you go, I will have your back.”
I always remember him for that.
In his contribution, Senator Craughwell made a comment about the 2016 Seanad election. Terry and I were on the same panel that time and we both wished we were never on it. I had lost my Dáil seat and Terry was recontesting. Unfortunately, he did not win. We both regretted the fact that we were on that panel together.
Terry was a person who epitomised what old politics was, but also what new politics is about. He loved his family and his place. When he discovered that my father went school in Omeath, given the connection with Omeath and Carlingford, it was as if he had won the lotto. As was said, there was the whole thing about 1957 and Louth beating Cork. I thought I would never forget that, because every day I met Terry, he kept saying, “Do not forget 1957 – Dermot O’Brien”.
As Senator Burke talked about golf, he had an encyclopaedic knowledge of golf. He loved his trip to Augusta. To all of us, when we think of the Masters, despite the golf, we think of the Scobe as well.
Senator McGahon very eloquently paid tribute to him. It is was his years of service, his commitment to the people, his ability and his affability to reach out to people and bring people with him in whatever he did. As everyone has eluded to, he was the most affable person, with many a great light in this institution and beyond. He was always here to work, to serve on committee, to be in the House and make his contribution.
The other important point about his life was an fáinne a bhí ar a jacket. Bhí suim mhór aige i gcúrsaí Gaeilge agus i gcúrsaí cultúir. B'fhear uasal é.
I welcome Terry’s family, his wife, Aileen, and his children to the Gallery. My first engagement and time meeting Terry was the day I was elected into Leinster House. We were given offices and I was very privileged that my office was across the corridor from Terry’s. It was next door to Pat O’Neill and Anna. It is where our Leas-Chathaoirleach’s office is now. In that particular floor, one became very friendly with the people on the floor. Terry was always in early in the morning, as Pat was as well. You get to know people early in the morning as well as you get to know them late at night. It is great to see Joe and Brian in the Gallery, because they were like the extended family of Terry.
The one thing Terry was brilliant at was if you were having a bad day, he would cheer you up. He always referred to me as Máirtín. That was his love of his Irish language. Unfortunately, my Irish was pidgin Irish compared to Terry’s, but he would always try to force you to say a few words. I remember I had been on television one night and there was a pile-on afterwards. Terry came in the following morning and said, “Máirtín, wait till I get my hands on ‘em.” He was always there supportive and on side.
His contribution to this House was immense. That came from his intelligence, but also from his experience. When he made contributions on Northern Ireland or his area of spokespersonship, namely, tourism, he spoke with the knowledge of experience. He was then able to use his intelligence and the experience to articulate his point in here.
He spoke very highly of his time in the ESB and what he had achieved there as well and that is outside of what he achieved in local government. Senator McGahon spoke very eloquently here. He worked at one stage with James Bannon and said to me, “Watch John McGahon. He is a man for the future.” I think he is right. Terry could see around corners and predict the future. He would be very proud of the contribution that Senator McGahon made today.
We miss Terry. I miss the phone calls. After he left here, he always kept in touch. He would ring up and say, “Máirtín, this is the Scobe” and two hours later you would still be on the phone. He would have everything analysed, whatever the topics of the day were. He would have every constituency analysed and every electoral area analysed. His knowledge of politics in Ireland, of every county and, in particular, his forensic knowledge of Fine Gael, its politics, its people and its potential was immense. He was a proud Fine Gael person. He flew the flag from 1986 until 2016 and then continued to fly the flag as a private citizen.
The highlight of his year was going over to visit his son in America and going to the Augusta Masters. I knew little about golf, but after spending five years with Terry, I learned a bit about golf.
Ar dheis Dé, a great friend and a great colleague. We miss him dearly.
I wish to acknowledge Terry Brennan’s enormous contribution and his family as well. As I entered Leinster House in 2016, I did not have the privilege to serve with him. I probably entered local government in 2003. I remember Terry on the Seanad campaign well. I remember the ability he had, even though he was a long ways from Cork, to communicate with people. That is Terry’s legacy. There is a great legacy in Leinster House for his five years. I just want to put that on the record. For a person who never served with him in this Seanad, he has a legacy here that is spoken about on a daily basis. That is a wonderful achievement and acknowledgement of the person he was and what he brought not only to the Chamber, but to the psyche of the people working and living in this House. I just want to put that on the record.
Obviously, it was a very sad loss to his family and to his wife, in particular. I sympathise with them on their sad loss of losing Terry. This is about, in many ways, acknowledging the wonderful contribution he made in a very short space of time in this House. If you talk to the people who are permanent in this House, in particular, the ushers, they have a wonderful understanding and acknowledgement for Terry and what he did. I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach for this opportunity to speak.
I welcome Terry’s family to the Chamber. I welcome his widow, Aileen, and his children, David and Tanya, as well as Bobby, who is looking on. I also welcome Deputy Joe Carey and former Deputy Brian Walsh as well, both very close friends of Terry, as well as the Members who served with him in this House. I did not serve with Terry in this House, but I served with him in the parliamentary party from 2011 to 2016. Any conversations I had with him were always very friendly and were on plenty of topics, such as family, County Louth, politics, sport, Augusta, golf and all of that. He was a very sociable person. I might have had a drink or two with him in the Members’ bar or perhaps down in the Ginger Man the odd evening as well. He was a very sociable person.
I always remember he was always very well dressed. He always looked to have a very expensive suit and was always very well turned out. That is something that I very much remember. He was a lovely guy.
He served his constituents and Fine Gael very well over decades. It was a great opportunity at the end of his career in local government to get the opportunity to spend a term in this House. He would have liked to spend longer, of course, and, obviously, illness got the better of him in the end. It was a wonderful opportunity that he got to serve here on the national stage. He is missed. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.
I will be brief. On my behalf, but more particularly on behalf of my dad, Maurice Cummins, who served with Terry from 2011 to 2016 and was a great friend of Terry’s over many years, I want to express my deepest sympathy to the Brennan family on such a sad loss.
We should not be on our phones, I know, but I was texting my dad during the tributes and pretty much everything everybody has said my dad was echoing in messages back to me. Terry was a Member who was loved on all sides of the House, regardless of political affiliation. That is the greatest testament to the character of anyone in a House like this House. We all have to get on with our party colleagues, of course, but to have been able to be friends with colleagues from all sides of the House is a testament to Terry's character. I recall him canvassing me in 2011, even though my dad was on the panel. Of course, that was Terry looking ahead. He was looking for No. 2s on the panel after Maurice. Genuinely, any time I met Terry, any time I visited Leinster House as a young fella, he always had a nice and kind word to say.
Thank you for this opportunity, a Leas-Chathaoirligh. It is really nice and fitting that we have the opportunity to pause to reflect on and to acknowledge the great servant that was Terry Brennan.
I welcome the Brennan family and Deputy Joe Carey and former Deputy Brian Walsh to the Chamber. I got to know Terry after I got elected in 2009, when I would travel to various events throughout the country. He was particularly friendly with what we in Fine Gael in Longford call the three amigos. Unfortunately, all three have passed away since. They were Councillor Gerry Brady, Councillor Paddy Belton and Councillor Victor Kiernan, who passed away just a number of weeks ago. They were particularly friendly with Terry for a long number of years and introduced him to me and, from what Terry said to me, were instrumental in encouraging him, I think, to run for the Seanad back in 2011. He canvassed all the rest of the Fine Gael members in Longford for our support for him.
I think everything has been said. He was a pure gentleman, judging from the short time I knew him, extremely friendly, courteous and a very proud Fine Gael man. He was very proud to serve in this House, and I know that his family is proud that he served his party and served his country in this House. He also served Louth, which he was extremely proud of. I myself come from a very strong GAA tradition. Coming from Longford, our success on the fields is very minimal, and Terry delighted in reminding me of that, but I easily shot back that Louth did not have too many all-Irelands either. We had great discussions over a sport that both of us loved and were involved in.
On behalf of the members of Fine Gael in Longford and my colleagues on Longford County Council, I extend our sympathies in respect of someone who was to me a gentleman, Terry Brennan.
I call Senator Currie, herself the daughter of an illustrious public servant.
It is an honour to stand here today and to recognise Senator Terry Brennan and all the work he did as well as his colleague, former Councillor Peter Savage, and I see Councillor Anna Grainger here too. We in Fine Gael are a family and we need those people who will call us out when we need calling out and who will support us when we need that.
I have been listening to everyone's collective memories. That environment, that craic, that support and that ethos is what I grew up with in my house and it is what encouraged me to go into politics. You were part of something bigger than yourself and there was that great love of public service. I really hope Terry's family feels the warmth and the gratitude we have for his work over the years. On behalf of my family, on behalf of the Fine Gael members in Dublin West, I thank Terry for his contribution and his steadfast commitment to peace, to the Good Friday Agreement and to standing up for what matters. He will not be forgotten.
I pay tribute to Senator Terry Brennan's family. Everyone has come here to pay their respects. I am a new Senator and I wish to acknowledge Senator Mullen, who spoke about Senator Michael Mullins, who is from the area of Ballinasloe, which is my town. Like anyone who is a public representative, when you love your area and fight for your area, when you are a good public representative, it shows. It is very clear from the speeches that have been made that the Brennan family must be so proud. As a family we sometimes forget how much families give when a family member is a public representative. It is not just one person; it is a family that comes together and raises that person up and allows him or her to perform as a public representative and to give so much in public service to his or her country, town and region. I have heard and learned about the late Senator Terry Brennan from my colleagues and our Fine Gael family, but a family is really what made him one of those people whom we will look up to for many years to come. I thank his family.
I will conclude by reiterating the welcome to Terry's family. On a day like today, it is important to thank the family because they make and have made great sacrifices to give Terry to public service. That involves great sacrifices of a family because there is a lot of absence, a lot of trauma and a lot of other stuff involved that impacts family life. For that reason, we owe the family a debt of gratitude, as does the country.
Mar a dúirt cúpla duine níos luaithe, bhí grá agus meas faoi leith ag Terry don Ghaeilge agus, ar ndóigh, d'oidhreacht na tíre seo. Bhí tírghrá deimhin aige, agus fear faoi leith a bhí i gceist. Tá sé tuillte go mbeadh muid sásta an grá a bhí aige don teanga a chur i láthair agus labhairt faoi. Bhí an-ghrá aige don teanga, don oidhreacht agus a leithéid. Tá sé iontach tábhachtach an chuid sin a cheiliúradh anseo inniu chomh maith leis na rudaí eile.
I see that our colleague, Senator Maria Byrne, has entered room. Did you want to say a word, Senator?
Yes, if that is okay, a Leas-Chathaoirligh. I had to speak on something elsewhere, so I apologise I missed the tributes. I welcome Terry's family and friends. I knew Terry well. I served on the Committee of the Regions with him and he was a very fine representative, not only as a councillor but also as a Senator, and so committed to the work in which he was involved. There have been many compliments made about him here today and I would like to be associated with them. Thank you for including me, a Leas-Chathaoirligh.
Cuireann sé sin deireadh leis na rudaí deasa a bhí le rá againn. Arís, ár gcomhbhrón daoibh uilig don teaghlach.