David Cullinane (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Nelson Mandela was, by any standards, an exceptional human being. He was a towering figure and an inspiration to freedom loving people the world over. I extend to the family of former president Mandela, to President Zuma, to the people of South Africa and to the South African community in Ireland my sincere and heartfelt condolences on the death at Madiba.

Nelson Mandela is one of my heroes and in my view the greatest political leader of our time. He inspired people to see a world beyond themselves and to be brave in the face of often enormous odds. We should never forget the struggle of black South Africans against the apartheid regime and always honour their fight for freedom and dignity. It is also fitting that we remember at this time in this State the brave workers from Dunnes Stores who played their part in the struggle. Those Irish people seized the moral imperative and did what they could to challenge the apartheid regime in South Africa. At a time when the anti-apartheid struggle was, to say the least, controversial in some quarters, the Dunnes Stores' workers stood firm on their refusal to handle South African goods even in the face of great adversity and sometimes visceral, unjustified condemnation. They were able to carry on because they knew that they had right on their side. Even some of the people who disagreed with them are now praising Mandela and what he achieved in his country. Their stance against the insidious system is testament to the fortitude of ordinary Irish people and their keen sense of justice. Their protest is rightly burned into the collective consciousness of this country. The Dunnes Stores anti-apartheid workers are true friends of the South African people and Mr. Mandela. He stated that their campaign helped sustain him during his imprisonment, as I am sure did all of the support he received from people the world over.

In the hard years when the western powers were against him, when he was vilified as a terrorist and criminal he kept the faith. He showed by perseverance and vision how to build peace out of conflict and a better and more equal future based on fairness and unity out of division. Those are lessons for all of us, particularly for the people of the island of Ireland as we continue the necessary and challenging task of building peace.

Madiba was also a friend of Sinn Féin's. My comrades who met him on many occasions in South Africa, Ireland and Britain describe him as funny, engaging and modest. He was greatly supportive of the Irish peace process. Along with his ANC comrades, he was loyal to those, including Irish republicans, who had helped the ANC in very difficult times. His outreach to Sinn Féin in the 1990s was resisted stridently by the British Government and criticised by sections of the media here in this State. I am very proud of my party's decades long relationship with former president Madiba and the ANC. It is a great honour that the Sinn Féin president, Deputy Gerry Adams, was invited by the ANC to attend the funeral and services of remembrance when they bid farewell to Madiba.

Madiba's courage, humanity and decency has inspired us all. The issues he struggled against have not disappeared. Therefore, we should honour his memory by speaking out and struggling against oppression, racism and poverty whenever we discover it. That would be a fitting tribute to such a brave and noble man. Madiba shall be missed by freedom loving people around the world but his legacy shall live on. Madiba shall continue to inspire and encourage oppressed people around the world.