Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

Along with Senator Mooney, I feel a little old this morning, as I served in the Seanad from 1987 to 1989 with the late Senator Mickey Doherty. It was certainly an enjoyable experience dealing with such a colourful character and profoundly popular politician. It was an interesting Seanad in 1987 because, as Senator Mooney knows, we were not meeting in this Chamber, as it was being renovated, but in the anteroom next door. The desks were small and space was limited, and every comment, quip and utterance was heard throughout the House. I cannot give in graphic detail an account of the morning when Senator Doherty was stopped from speaking by the then Cathaoirleach Tras Honan, but it certainly was a memorable morning for all of us who were there. The Official Record of the Seanad reads "Interruptions", but it was a bit more lively than that. I believe it was actually Mickey Doherty's first speech, or first attempted speech, in the Seanad. Of course, as Senator Mooney and others will recall, he was elected on the same panel as Tras Honan so there was a bit of natural tension between them.