Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

Ar son Teachtaí agus Seanadóir Shinn Féin, agus ar mo shon féin, cuirim chomhbhrón chuig May agus chuig clann, cairde agus comhleacaithe Thomás Mac Giolla, iar-uachtarán Shinn Féinn agus iar-Theachta Dála. On behalf of Sinn Féin I extend sympathy to May Mhic Giolla and the bereaved family, friends and colleagues of the late Tomás Mac Giolla, former president of Sinn Féin from 1962 to 1969 and former Dáil Deputy. Tomás Mac Giolla was a lifelong political activist who followed, according to his lights, the creed of Wolfe Tone and James Connolly. His primary concern was the well-being of the mass of the people, the working people he represented in Dublin as a councillor and Deputy. I heard an anecdote today that illustrates this. When he worked in the ESB he acquired the key to Merrion Square Park, beside Leinster House. It was then the property of the Catholic Church and closed to the public. Local children could only look through the locked gates and high railings. I am told Tomás Mac Giolla made the key available to those living in local flats so that the children could play in the park. In Ballyfermot, Inchicore and the adjacent areas he represented for many years, his hard work is still recalled and appreciated.

Tomás Mac Giolla's political course and that represented by Sinn Féin in the Dáil today diverged sharply in 1970. We have heard various interpretations of that division on the national question since his death but this is neither the time nor the place to rehearse these arguments. There were sharp and sometimes tragic divisions between Tomás Mac Giolla's political direction and ours. However, it is widely acknowledged - and I wish to do so again - that Tomás Mac Giolla acted according to his deeply held political beliefs. In later years I had occasion to share platforms with him on issues of common concern, such as Irish neutrality. I found him as I expected I would, to be a very sincere political voice. Suaimhneas síoraí dá ainm.

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