Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

By way of history, a first cousin of my father was the rocketman in west Kerry. He was in Ballydavid where the Coast Guard station was burnt during the Troubles. For many years, he used to have the only telephone in the village and he was the person who went up to see if there was a ship in distress. He used to climb the sort of pole to fire the rocket and carry out all of the other aspects of the role. There is great history attached to people who gave that service over the years. I acknowledge that now.