Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It was with great sadness I learned earlier this year of the death of former Deputy and Minister of State, the late Ted Nealon. Today, on behalf of the Government and the Fine Gael Party, I convey my deepest sympathies to his wife, Jo, who is not with us in the House today, his son Fergal, his daughter Louise and extended family. Louise is watching this broadcast in Sydney, Australia.

Ted Nealon is sadly missed by all those who knew him in his personal and political life. Many of the younger and newer Members might not have known Ted Nealon as a person or a politician. Some who may not have been in politics at the time will have seen some of the programmes he conducted when he was a television broadcaster and political commentator.

It was a privilege and quite something to work with him and to be a beneficiary of what was a unique political brain of enormous capacity. It is something about which we know very clearly in Leinster House and the Dáil, as do those who were privileged to work with him in what, by any standards, was an exceptional career in politics and journalism. In the political aspect of his career he served proudly under two former taoisigh, Liam Cosgrave and the late Dr. Garret FitzGerald, and he did so with distinction as Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture and later as Minister of State at the Department of An Taoiseach with responsibility for arts and culture. He was later appointed Minister of State at the Department of Posts and Telegraphs.

In every role he gave of his best, not alone as an exemplary public servant but as an exemplary compassionate and dignified human being. In every interaction he recognised the other person's humanity and dignity, which explains why when Ted's passing was announced it was met with such personal sadness and fond affection in the former constituency of Sligo-Leitrim. He touched people's lives with his sincerity and the common sense and insight for which he was well noted and for which he is now so deeply and personally missed.

Ted Nealon loved his county and everything about it. He loved the stories and the engagement of the characters of the day. He followed on from the late Eugene Gilhawley and the late Joe MacLachlan, two different personalities who represented the Sligo-Leitrim constituency. He loved Ben Bulben, Lissadell and Streedagh Strand where the lost armada lies. He was intrigued by the science of politics and the enthusiasm created by so many people. He was always excited about the political challenge and the stories that had to be contented with. He wrote many of them down in the book he published on tales from Leinster House.

He made a remarkable contribution to politics in Ireland, both as a practitioner and an analyst. I recall when he first came here to join the Fine Gael Party, working for the late Dr. Garret FitzGerald. He was the first person I saw in the House to use what was then described as the golf typewriter, on which all of the letters were on a central console. Ted, being a journalist, used to churn out letters, epistles and leaflets and eventually produced a paper for the party, which was very well received in Dublin and throughout the country. Those who were members of a much smaller party always wanted to be featured in it at some point.

I believe his fascination with politics was something that was infectious because he was very enthusiastic about it, not only because of policy statements or political interviews but because he crystallised all of this fascination into a specific resource that every aspiring politician, every student of politics and every political columnist and broadcaster has now as the foundation stone of their competence or their aspiration. It is known as Nealon's Guide, which he launched more than 40 years ago.

How many people around the country have thumbed through those pages looking at the photographs of the different constituencies and the different parties, the first count, the second count, the elimination process and eventually the line-up of those elected? It is an extraordinary series of books, encompassing an entire social and political history throughout the country.

Sadly along with Ted Nealon, this month the nation mourns the loss of another great broadcasting icon, the presenter, author and academic Brian Farrell. On Irish television in black and white in the early days of the 1960s Ted Nealon and Brian Farrell worked very closely together on the current affairs programme "7 Days". Many men and women now in their late 40s, 50s and 60s remember the silence that was called for in the kitchen or the sitting room that the "7 Days" programme demanded and got. Brian and Ted made necessary - even compulsive - viewing in what were often difficult times for our country.

I recall when Ted Nealon, God rest him, was appointed as a Minister of State. He was invited to speak in the Imperial Hotel in Castlebar, where Michael Davitt held many of his meetings after the Land League was started, to talk on the vista that lay ahead for agriculture. He gave a strong presentation on what was in store for farmers. At the end of the Minister of State's contributions the chairman on the night called for questions. The question had nothing to do with the Minister of State' presentation on the agricultural vista that lay ahead, but asked whether the Minister of State would be in a position to re-infect the rabbits in Ballyglass with myxomatosis as they had eaten all the ditches in the surrounding parish. This is one of the many stories Ted Nealon used to love to recount and be involved in through his enjoyment of politics.

To Jo, Feargal, Louise and the extended family, I offer our heartfelt thanks for his contribution to Ireland and to politics. I express our deepest sympathy. It was an honour to serve with him in the House here and to enjoy his company, and to learn from his journalistic and broadcasting brain about the science of politics and what made it work for him. Go ndéanfaidh Dia trócaire ar a anam dílis.

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