Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Ar mo shon féin agus ar son Shinn Féin, ba mhaith liom comhbhrón a dhéanamh le clann agus le cairde an iarTheachta Mark Killilea, a fuair bás i Mí na Nollag. On my behalf and that of Sinn Féin, I wish to express sincere sympathies and condolences to the family and friends of former Teachta Mark Killilea who passed away last December.

Bhí gairm fada ag an iarTheachta Killilea in oifig phoiblí agus táim cinnte de go bhfuil a mhuintir an-bhródúil as seo. As has been stated, Mark had a very long and, indeed, distinguished career in public office. I am sure his clan are extremely proud of that. He served as a member of Galway County Council, as a Member of the Dáil on behalf of the people of Galway, in the Seanad and, of course, at the European Parliament with great distinction. He also served as Minister of State at the Department of Posts and Telegraphs. It seems his record there is a matter of legend in the context of telephone connections in the early 1980s under the then Taoiseach, Charles Haughey, whom he, as a member of the so-called gang of five, backed during the Fianna Fáil leadership context in 1979, something which, I am sure, the Leas-Cheann Comhairle recalls. I will not elaborate on that, but I wish to recall, as others have, that he coined the famous phrase that the ordinary people of Ireland are those who eat their dinner in the middle of the day. If ever there was a political concept or phrase that will resonate down the generations, that for sure is it.

I did not know Mark, but he was evidently extremely in tune with the people of his constituency and this country. His work ethic, ability and achievements have been attested to and I wish to join with others in extending condolences to his wife, Anne, his children Éidín, Niamh, Deirbrin, Niall, Donagh, Medbh and Eimhín, and the rest of his family and friends. We recall also his son, Mark, agus cuirimid fáilte freisin roimh baby Mark as the family lineage continues. I am sure that, for all of them, he was and always will be simply the best. We extend our sympathies to our colleagues on the Fianna Fáil benches and the Leas-Cheann Comhairle on the loss of a colleague and a friend. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.

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