Michelle Mulherin (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am pleased to add to the tributes to John Carty and to express my sympathy to the Carty and Regan families on the passing of John. I knew John but did not serve on the county council at the same time as him, nor was I a Member of the Dáil at the same time as him. However, I knew him from the radio and from meeting him around the county, whether at a funeral, a public meeting or some event. He was a very affable man and he was a really hard worker. He was persistent and had a style about him which was to persist. It was never about insulting anybody, which made him very well liked across the board, whether one was from Fianna Fáil or from whatever political persuasion. He worked very hard in the Knock and Claremorris areas and, in particular, in east Mayo. He left his mark, in particular in regard to his expertise in the field of agriculture which he brought to bear on his work for the people of Mayo. I express my appreciation as a Deputy and as someone from the county for the work he did.

The Carty house in Knock is an open house, whether that was through the children or John and Kathleen. They are at the heart of the community and John was well known throughout the whole county on a personal level. He was a great friend of P.J. Morley, who has sadly passed away also.

As I said, we were not political adversaries, as Deputy O'Mahony described it, other than on one occasion when we were both on the 2007 general election ballot paper. However, I served with his brother Michael, who was here today, on Mayo County Council. John bore his illness with great courage, as did his family. He is a great loss to them, to his friends and to his former colleagues, both within Fianna Fáil and outside it. May his soul rest in peace.

See this speech in context