Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

On my own behalf and that of the Fine Gael Party, I wish to tender our deepest sympathy and condolences to Séamus Brennan's wife, Ann, and their six children, as well as to the Fianna Fáil Party on its loss of an active, elected Member who held many ministerial portfolios over the years. I spoke to Séamus Brennan outside this House just after Christmas and he knew that this was not going to be easy. He spoke of his illness and his understanding of mortality in a way that few would.

I first met Séamus Brennan shortly after 1973 when he was appointed general secretary of Fianna Fáil. I was elected to the House in 1975. In the early 1980s, Séamus Brennan was already talking about the power of the computer and its capacity to allow politicians to maintain contact with constituents and interest groups in various sectors of society. His understanding of human nature and the mechanics of politics made him an outstanding elected representative. On more than one occasion when times were difficult and a political crisis erupted, Séamus Brennan could always be relied upon to be wheeled out by Fianna Fáil to defend whatever the issue might be. He did so with a simplicity and nature that was hard to dislike. Of the many people I have seen pass through this House, Séamus Brennan epitomised through his western roots a deep understanding of people's concerns and of humanity in general.

For him, politics was an all consuming passion. It was his life and I do not think he worked at anything else, other than having qualified as an accountant in UCG before joining Fianna Fáil. He brought about a marked change in the way political parties did their business. He was the first in the country to bring a sense of analysis to political polls and electoral trends that came from the United States and changed forever the way political parties operated here. He knew the organisation of his own party inside out and from top to bottom. There was not a village, parish or townland that he could not pinpoint from Donegal to Wexford, or from Louth to west Cork, as well as knowing individual party members there. He had been around such places, building up Fianna Fáil in the early 1970s. I recall his many television appearances when he explained in his own quiet way what it was like to be general secretary of a party that was striving for Government at that time. From that perspective, he served his country well in a range of junior and senior ministerial portfolios.

His family and friends can be proud of the part that Séamus Brennan played in Irish political life and in public life generally. At public meetings, he always went out of his way to pay respect to his elected colleagues from all parties and none. He made a point of crossing crowded rooms to seek out other elected representatives and show them a respect that the ballot box brings. For that, I pay him tribute. Young, aspiring politicians would do well to study the way in which Séamus Brennan conducted himself in terms of the responsibilities given to him both by the people and by the Taoisigh with whom he served in various Departments.

In his own unassuming way, he was never shy about garnering the odd bit of publicity. One of those who worked with him told me: "You could find a major statement in the national newspapers on a Monday morning from Séamus Brennan, but when you looked for the press release that went with it, there was no press release". That was because on quiet days Séamus Brennan would take up the phone and give journalists some news story that would carry the day for them and for him. I shall miss him as a friend and a political colleague. After Christmas, just outside these doors, he said to me: "I've had a tough battle. I'm not sure whether I can weather this storm or not." He has gone and politics is the poorer for his passing. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.

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