Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

I join other Members in paying tribute to the memory of the late Tom Fitzpatrick. As stated by previous speakers, Tom Fitzpatrick served with great distinction as a member and chairman of Cavan Urban District Council and as a member and vice chairman of County Cavan VEC. As a member of the Seanad and the Dáil, he worked extremely hard and with great diligence on behalf of his constituents in Cavan-Monaghan and, for one Dáil period, part of north Meath.

Having served in government twice in a number of different Departments and as Ceann Comhairle, he rightly earned the respect of the entire membership of the House and the respect of the public. The clear evidence of the esteem in which Tom Fitzpatrick was held by his constituents was the excellent votes he secured at successive general elections during the period in which he served in the House, namely, 1965 to 1989. Tom Fitzpatrick was a committed member of many local voluntary organisations in the Cavan area. In latter years, it was always a pleasure for me to meet him and discuss issues of local and national importance.

To his wife, Carmel, his son, Tom, his daughter, Geraldine, his brother, John Brendan, and his extended family, I offer my sincere sympathy. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam uasal dílis.

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