Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I too wish to express the sympathies of the Social Democrats to the family of Monica Barnes. I only met her on a few occasions and would have known her from a distance. As Deputy McDonald said, it was difficult to make sense of Fine Gael in the early 1980s when it had a group of very progressive women and, at the same time, some very conservative men. Certainly, a broad church is an apt description. However, I always felt a warmth about Monica Barnes, as people have mentioned, and I was aware of her forthrightness. At this time, with the referendum coming up, had she been well and able, I know she would have been involved in the campaign. I do not believe politics is something that would have left her. Our sympathies go to her family.

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