Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

As others did last week, I travelled with Deputy Sherlock to Liverpool to campaign in the United Kingdom for the people of Britain to vote to remain part of the EU. During the day, like the Taoiseach, we met with Irish community groups, business leaders and the ordinary people of Liverpool going about their normal day’s work. The sun shone for a while. It also rained. It was like a normal day at home.

As one would expect during a campaign like that, some people agreed with us, others did not. While we there Jo Cox, a Labour MP, was shot and stabbed in Burstal, just 70 miles from where we were campaigning. Word came through to the two British Labour MPs who were with us, and the British Labour MEP, who knew Jo extremely well as a friend and colleague, that she had died. It was very emotional. Jo was 41 years old, a wife, a parent of two young children, a lifelong campaigner for Labour values and it was for her campaigning, because she was in politics, that she was killed. She will live long in all our memories now, including those of us who never heard of Jo before that day. She will inspire us to redouble our efforts to combat extremism and hatred in all their forms. We can have very strong views in our political lives but we should have those views within the boundaries of decency. That is the inspirational message that Jo Cox has left with us. May she rest in peace.

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