Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

She got the female vote and I got the male vote. In any event, I called over to her, even though she had retired at that stage, and asked her if she would be interested in standing again. She said "Okay, I will." We set about it and she went off on her merry rounds. I never knew where she was and did not care where she was going because that is the type of candidate she was. We did not divide up the territory. She had her own people and, sure enough, she was re-elected.

It was a unique experience to serve with somebody like that, especially in this day and age of cutthroat politics. People are always asking each other if they were at this public meeting or if they are attending that funeral. Monica went her way and I went mine. There were times, of course, when she would not agree with some of my views on some issues. However, most of the time I could fully agree with her way of thinking. It was a unique experience to serve with somebody like that in politics. It is a lesson to those who are thinking of coming into politics. They do not have to wear a banner around their necks. They can enter politics and say what they truly believe. If a candidate truly believes in something, he or she does not need a manifesto to knock on a door. People should say what they believe in. That is what Monica did. The best tribute I can pay to her is that she is the best example of somebody who stood up and said what she believed. Sometimes I did not agree with her but most of the time she had a way that I had to agree with her. I have to admit that as - at that time - a youngish, conservative-type candidate, I learned an awful lot from her. I learned that I had to be a bit liberal in this country and in this day and age. I extended my liberalism way beyond where I thought I would.

Monica made a huge contribution to Irish public life.

We need people like that, people who can change opinion by truly believing in a way of life. She is a great loss even though she had retired. The time I went over to her and asked her if she would come out of retirement, she thought about it and said she would. Lo and behold she stood and got re-elected. She was just unique. Very few people could do that. She had retired and she said she would stand again. She went her way and I went my way and she got elected. People often ask if there is a formula to get elected. The formula I learned from Monica was to be oneself and say what one truly believes in. May she rest in peace.

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