Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the House and all of the previous speakers for the very kind tributes they have paid to my late father. My father was quintessentially a quiet and shy man and I am sure he listened with great interest to all of the contributions and pinched himself on more than one occasion, on hearing the tributes that have been paid to him.

My father was hugely conscious of the honour that was bestowed upon him by the people, originally of Mid-Cork, and subsequently of Cork North-West. He never failed to understand the critical connection between being a public representative and the public. That is a message that he conveyed strongly to myself and one that is understood by all successful politicians in this House and elsewhere. It is inevitable that in the context of tributes in this House that they are invariably framed in the context of the public man, whether it was his time as a member of Cork County Council, which he hugely appreciated and enjoyed, as a Member of this House, as a Member of the European Parliament or, dare I say, even his membership of Fine Gael, which was a lifelong membership which he truly treasured. None of those aforementioned defined him in itself. He was, like all of us, multidimensional.

However, it is invariably the case that when we are described in the context of our membership, the public's consumption of it is very much one dimensional.

Like all of us, who my father was very much defined by where he came from. In that context, Carrigaphooca and Codrum were very much who my father was. He has been described as a son of the soil and someone who was interested in farming and agricultural matters. That is very much who he was and he carried that love, affection, commitment, understanding and dedication into public life in which I think he made not an insignificant contribution.

For my mother and sisters and, to my father's huge enjoyment, his grandchildren, some of whom are here, the man we miss is the family man - the father, son, brother, uncle and grandfather. In particular, his role as a grandfather brought him tremendous joy and satisfaction in his declining years. I thank all of my colleagues for the very kind tributes they have paid to him.

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