Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)

We were all sad to hear of the premature passing overnight of our colleague, Séamus Brennan. As many others have said, Séamus was the consummate politician. He devoted almost all of his adult life to politics. He was appointed general secretary of the Fianna Fáil Party when he was 24 years of age. He served in six different Departments, and he used his great intelligence and his spirit of innovation in each of them. I remember being very impressed with how he moved from issues relating to competition in transport to the cause of society's most vulnerable in social welfare. He applied the same energy, vigour and determination to that task and his colleagues in the Government were deeply impressed with his commitment. He was like a dog with a bone. When he took up a cause, he did not easily give it up.

I have known him for all my political career. He was very encouraging to me in my early years when I joined a political party. I remember him calling me once to tell me I had been added to the ticket in Dublin South-East. I asked him where that was, as I was living in west Dublin and that is where I had sought to be a candidate. He said to me "it is those posh places like Ballsbridge, but it is also where I live in Goatstown, and you will be fine". We have had a very good personal relationship ever since.

His political judgment was incredible. He was not just a good organiser and a great campaigner. He brought a new style to Irish political campaigns in the 1970s. He had somebody like me wearing tee shirts and singing songs, even though I cannot hold a note. He had a great vision of the kind of country he wanted. He passionately believed in a united Ireland, but he also passionately believed that could only be achieved by agreement, by persuasion and not by force. He was totally loyal to the Fianna Fáil Party. I should know as I tried to get him to leave. He was completely committed to his party in every sense.

When the Government came into office in 1997, most people said it would not last six months. It was a coalition Government between two parties that had not got on in a previous arrangement, and it was a minority Government dependent on four Independent Deputies. The skills of the then Taoiseach were very important in keeping that Government together, but Séamus Brennan's political skills as Chief Whip were immense. He built up fantastic relationships with everyone. Séamus always wanted to be accommodating to individuals and to see the other point of view. Members referred to his zest for publicity. My memory is that he got his publicity on a Sunday morning when every matter was a large story. He made small decisions sound radical and important up to the end.

The manner in which he dealt with his illness is an example to us all. He showed great courage and great dignity. He did not give up but was determined to get better. Unfortunately, it was not to be. Having recovered from one bout of illness before the general election, he was unlucky to get a different bout of illness last autumn. He never spoke about it to his colleagues even though it was evident to all of us that he was suffering. He was determined to get on with the job and not to talk about himself or focus on his illness.

He was deeply proud of his six children and often spoke about them and their achievements. They meant very much to him. To his wife, Ann, who has been by his side all his life — if memory serves me right they met in University College Galway — he is a huge loss. He is a huge loss to his family, extended family and his colleagues in Fianna Fáil. He will be hard to replace because he encompassed so much. May he rest in peace.

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