Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

During the summer recess we heard of the death of our former colleague, John Wilson, former Tánaiste, distinguished Minister and Member of this House for 20 years. On this occasion, I wish to convey my sincere condolences and those of my Fianna Fáil colleagues to his wife, Ita, his son, John, his daughters, Claire, Siobhan, Lucy and Maria, his grandchildren and his brothers and sisters.

I also join with the people of Cavan and Ireland in remembering one of that county's and this country's most loyal servants and best loved and respected politicians. John Wilson, as many in this House will know because they served with him, was one of the friendliest, most energetic and most formidable elected representatives that this House has ever seen. Along with being a superb politician, he was an accomplished sportsman and a dedicated scholar. Born in Cavan in 1923, he was educated at St. Mel's College, Longford, the University of London and the National University of Ireland. He graduated with an MA and a Higher Diploma in Education. He was a secondary school teacher at Gonzaga College and also a university lecturer. During his teaching career he was an active member of the ASTI and was a past president of the association.

John loved languages. He was fluent in Irish, Greek, Latin and Spanish. He was very pleased that he could speak Russian and he also dabbled in a number of other languages. He could be found around the House reading weeks old newspapers in various languages. As a young Member of this House I remember asking him why he read newspapers that were a few weeks or a month old. He said it was to keep up to date with the language rather than for the news worthiness of the articles.

As a younger man, John was famous for his exploits on the football field. He proudly wore the Cavan jersey many times. He won five Ulster Football Championship medals, a National League medal and two All-Ireland medals, including a medal at New York's Polo Grounds when Cavan defeated Kerry in 1947 in that famous final. In his passing the GAA community has also lost a legend of the game and showed him due respect.

In politics, where I worked with John, he will be remembered for his knowledge, insight and wisdom on a broad range of political issues of interest at local constituency level and at national level where he performed at the highest level. This Chamber and the corridors of the House will be a lesser place for the passing of John Wilson. Since he left the House he continued to serve on the Fianna Fáil National Executive and as vice president of our party. For many years his wit, courtesy and friendship was recognised by Members on all sides of the House.

From the time he entered this House in 1973 and for the next two decades the people of Cavan-Monaghan gave John a very strong mandate to represent their interests in this House. He took great pride in this mandate and always sought to ensure that the interests of Cavan were heard loudly in the corridors of power. As a Minister and as Tánaiste, John continued to work tirelessly for Cavan and for the country serving for periods in the Departments of Education, Transport, Posts and Telegraphs, Tourism and Transport, the Marine and Defence. He is still recognised as a Minister of great ability with a long list of achievements on behalf of the Irish people.

In later life, John's name became synonymous with the quest to end the heartbreak that the Troubles caused to so many communities. I had the opportunity for a number of years as Taoiseach to work with him in his role as an independent commissioner for the location of victims' remains. He sought to relieve the heartache of many families. He became particularly close to those families and put in huge effort to try to bring closure to many of the families involved. I appreciated his commitment to that cause. He was deeply committed to this effort and there are many families throughout the island who remain thankful for his unswerving dedication to that important task.

There is no doubt that John will be remembered for a long time as a sportsman, a scholar and a fine politician. He will be remembered fondly not only in this House, but in the minds of Irish people for many years to come. We thank his family and the Fianna Fáil Party for allowing John to work with us for so many decades in so many posts, before he was elected to this House in an organisational capacity and after he left this House in an organisational capacity. He was always immensely proud of Cavan and of Ireland. He held this House in high regard as the Chamber of the people. I assure the Wilson family that both his county and his country are proud of his extraordinary contribution. People showed that all over the country but particularly in his native Cavan during his funeral. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.

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