Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

-----and he never let it down and he fought and battled for it, sometimes when it was not easy.

He played sport and was in politics and in sport they say not to go for the man or the woman but for the ball and that is what Seán did. He was an honourable man, a man I had great respect for and who served the people of Mayo. We have had many politicians over the years but Seán carried out his job in a very quiet, effective and decent way and when I went to him as a colleague to make representations on behalf of the constituency, he always got back to me and was always there to support and help me in whatever way he could. I will never forget him for his kindness because whenever I would meet him, he would have a kind word for me. He knew politics inside out and he knew the difficulties that people have in politics and he always had a kind word for people.

There is no doubt but that those qualities have passed onto my colleague, Dara, and Deputy Lisa Chambers was correct about that. He is somebody who I like working with, who I respect and who has carried on the tradition of the Calleary family. It is a great honour for Dara that his grandfather and his father were elected to this House, as he has been, because it is a great honour to be elected by the people of one's county to represent them in Dáil Éireann. Seán Calleary respected that, saw it as an honour and treated it as an honour. He respected the people of Mayo. He served Fianna Fáil and the people of this country very well and he will certainly be missed. Thousands of people turned up to his funeral and I said to Dara that day, joking, that I will be looking for the number twos from him because there is no doubt but that the people who turned out on the day had great respect for the Calleary family.

His wife Doris, his sons Conall, John and Dara and his daughter Síofra are the biggest losers. They have lost a great father, a great friend and someone who I enjoyed meeting because I never left him without a smile. He had that kind way about him. He is a big loss to his family and to Fianna Fáil. He served the people of Mayo, of whom he was very proud.

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