Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim failte roimh theaghlach Shane McEntee. Tá a fhios agam, mar adúírt an Ceann Comhairle, gur ócáid brónach é seo. Déanaim mo chomhbhrón leis an gclann agus le theaghlach iomlán Shane McEntee.

On behalf of Sinn Féin and on my own behalf I extend my deepest condolences to Shane McEntee's family, his wife Kathleen and their children, Aoife, Vincent, Helen and Sally, his mother Madge and his siblings. I also express my sympathy to the Taoiseach and the Fine Gael Party. Shane was deeply committed to Fine Gael and he worked tirelessly on behalf of the party. His by-election victory in 2005 helped lift Fine Gael when its fortunes were low and all of that is to the good from his perspective.

He was first and foremost a proud Meath man and he made a very significant contribution to his local community, as a farmer, as a community activist, as an active GAA member and as an elected representative. I first came across the McEntee name through the footballing exploits of Gerry, Shane's brother. In his capacity as a surgeon, he also ministered and tended to a very good friend of mine over a long period.

I always found Shane to be very courteous, polite and generous - except on one occasion which I will deal with in a moment. He was deeply committed to his politics, but was willing to listen to other opinions. He had a deep commitment to rural Ireland. I was surprised at the number of times he came to me quietly on the side to talk about forestry in the Cooley Mountains, about the ash tree disease or about his good relations with the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development in the North, Michelle O'Neill MLA. At one time he came to me after we had discussed collusion here and told me of an occasion when he was at his parents' farm and they had friends in from the North who had suffered from collusion - this family had been bereaved and he believed what was being said about collusion. He was also very proud of his south Armagh family connections.

The one incident to which I referred was that I was heckled here one time, which happens quite frequently in this Chamber. To my surprise I discovered afterwards that it was not just the usual suspects, but that Shane was one of the hecklers. I was both disappointed and offended by this. The next day as I was sitting here with Deputy Mary Lou McDonald beside me, he came across and stuck his hand out, shook hands and said, "I was out of order yesterday. I'm sorry." That was a measure of the man. He then went on to say, "When you're giving my Taoiseach a hard time, I see red." That was a sign of his great loyalty to the Taoiseach.

The big loss is to the family, including a bhean chéile and children. All of our families suffer grievously in one way or another because of our involvement in politics. However, I hope it is some consolation to Kathleen to know all the good work that her husband did and that he was liked by all sides in this Dáil. Many people are in a far better place today because of what he did and I thank her for that.

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