Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Having had the pleasure of serving alongside the late Paddy Power for a long time on Kildare County Council and in this House, I came to respect him as a great public representative and a decent and honest man. In football and hurling parlance, he would be regarded as a hard hitter who did not take prisoners readily or expect any mercy in return. He and I had some great jousts over the years and from time to time we entertained each other and those who were looking on.

Paddy Power was a politician whose sole purpose in life was to work on behalf the people. He respectfully listened to their views, came to a conclusion and represented them in the way he thought was right. While he did not always agree with them, he certainly represented them. He was a great headline for the rest of us and those of us who were young at the time learned a great deal from him, as Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl will agree. He was able to impress on those who opposed him the need to keep in mind at all times the job they were elected to do, namely, to represent the public and maintain a high level of public interest and public spiritedness.

Paddy Power was a great race goer, fiercely loyal GAA supporter and lover of all sport. He was also a great raconteur who told great stories, even against himself. He famously told one about a particular occasion when he received a hostile reception at a particular house while canvassing. Unusually for him, he retreated from the house and as he prepared to open the gate of the next house, the lady called after him that it was vacant, to which he responded, "I am not surprised."

Paddy Power was a great headline for the rest of us in the sense that he worked hard. He was not a great man for soundbites or public relations; one saw what one got. He worked extremely hard, however, and was extremely honest. All of us were impressed by the dedication and honesty he showed in representing his constituents.

He gave new meaning to the word "soundbite". If he did not like the sound of the questioner, you got the answer quickly and it was more of a bite, but his bark was always worse than his bite. I was greatly honoured to have the privilege to serve alongside him. He did a great deal of work for the people of Kildare, and he will be remembered for that. The fact that there was such a huge crowd at his funeral service is a great indication of the fondness in which he was held by the people of the county of Kildare.

I am delighted to see Kitty and the family here. Kitty is a decent, honest woman who was recognised as the power behind the throne. Along with him, she reared a fine family of which they both were proud, and the family was equally proud of them. It was great to be around and to have the experience of working with him. I hope the lessons that he gave us will live with us long, long afterwards.

I could not finish without making this one point. When we were younger, we used to try to rev his engine at local authority meetings. There was the giveaway signal, when he was beginning to respond, when he tossed the curls in the front of his hair with the back of his hand. That was always a signal, we had determined, that we were beginning to wind him up, and he also recognised after a time that we were winding him up. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.

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