Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Green Party)

I express my sympathy to Hazel, the boys, Ciara, Noel and other members of Liam Lawlor's family. Were it not for the dignity shown by the family in recent weeks, I would be tempted to use the Dáil privilege I am honoured to have to lambast every member of the media who so scurrilously and parasitically wrote about Liam Lawlor in the wake of his tragic death. However, given the dignity shown by the family, I will not get into that. I say this from the heart and not for the sake of political one-upmanship, although the apologies given by the media were so mealy-mouthed as to be worthless. When I read the newspapers the day after Liam's death, I was totally outraged, like everyone else. As Deputy Ó Caoláin said, even if the reports were true, there is such a thing as dignity and compassion. As someone who trained in Rathmines as a journalist, I was appalled and outraged and I hope we never witness the likes of it again.

Deputy Rabbitte and others stated one should never speak ill of the dead, but I disagree. If someone deserves abuse when he or she is alive, he or she deserves it when he or she is dead but former Deputy Lawlor did not deserve abuse when he was alive and he certainly does not deserve it following his death. Based on my experience working on the ground in Lucan, he had a fantastic reputation for working on behalf of his constituents. Whatever our disagreements about planning issues, which related not only to him but to the entire Fianna Fáil ethos during the 1980s, they were not personal. I was unlucky in that I entered the House only following Liam's retirement. However, I have no doubt if Liam was on the Government benches and we had an argument in the House with the usual fireworks, immediately afterwards we would sit down to have a cup of tea or coffee and be friends.

I did not get the opportunity to get to know him politically because I was only starting out, but I knew of him for many years, initially as a young child living in Lucan where one could not help but notice the name of Liam Lawlor because, as the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Lenihan, said, he was an avid constituency politician who made sure his constituents were aware of the work he was doing. Most importantly, however, he did the work, and that inspired my involvement in politics. Rather than saying, "Vote for me, I am Green, I am principled", it is a case of saying "Vote for me because I am doing my best to work for you" and I was inspired by Liam Lawlor in that regard.

I came across Liam on several occasions and what made him stand out from many Lucan-based politicians, present and past, was if he wanted to say something, he had the guts to say it, even if it was unpopular and he was at a public meeting where 90% of the attendance disagreed with him. Many politicians, in the Houses and on local authorities, do not have the courage of their convictions or the guts, and they could learn a great deal from Liam. He did not keep things personal.

I was asked to write a piece on Liam for a local newspaper recently and I presume Hazel and the family have read it, but I illustrated Liam's kindness and courtesy. A number of years ago, the Adamstown development, a proposal for a town in south Lucan the size of Drogheda, was an issue. Valerie Cox of RTE travelled around the area with me to examine the development. We drove along and I mentioned we were about to pass Liam Lawlor's house. She swung off the road and drove up the driveway to the house, which took me totally by surprise. Out came the dog followed by Liam. I was sitting in the jeep looking at Valerie Cox and I asked her what she wanted me to do. She told me to go out to him because I knew him. I apologised to him saying I had been landed in this because Valerie Cox was doing a report on Adamstown. Liam had not done an interview for six months but he brought us out to the garden and gave us tea and biscuits. He extended his courtesy to us for at least an hour. Hazel arrived later and she was probably scratching her head wondering what the hell I was doing there with Valerie Cox.

However, Liam gave her an interview and showed us around the house pointing out various personal items. That is testament to his human nature, courtesy and hospitality. He was a true gentleman. He did not have to do that as he could have just paid her the courtesy of an interview without doing anything else.

However, that was my first experience of Liam Lawlor, the gentleman, other than when he asked after me at the GAA club, of which my father was chairman, on a number of occasions. I was a footballer and Liam was interested in GAA games. He used to ask my father how I was and how my political career was going. He predicted I would be elected. Liam's personality was highlighted in the eulogy at his funeral service. If it were ever possible for that to be read into the Dáil record, it should be, because it gave some real, human examples of Liam as a person, which the media never wanted to cover. They always wanted to look at the scandal and make accusations, and when the libel laws could not come into play following Liam's tragic and untimely death, they went all out for him. That was a travesty.

I am not being mealy-mouthed in my praise, nor superficial. I am being genuine. My constituency, including the area of Lucan where Liam Lawlor lived for many years, was very well served by him. We will be lucky to see a public representative ever again working so hard on behalf of his constituents as Liam Lawlor. From the heart, I once again express my sympathy to his family.

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