Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Killilea family to the Chamber. I welcome Anne and all her children who are present. I congratulate Donagh on the birth of his baby, Mark, in recent days.

I did not know Mark Killilea. To the best of my knowledge, we never crossed paths. I did not serve with him and I did not serve with Donagh. I had left the council before he joined. Of course, I know the Killilea name and I know Mark Killilea by reputation and by the regard with which he was held in Galway. I know him from the stories in the Connacht Tribunewhen I was a young person reading about politics. I know him as a larger than life figure. The best know stories have all been repeated here today, including Deputy Howlin's comments about the vote for Charlie Haughey and Deputy Micheál Martin's comments regarding the telephones and eating dinners in the middle of the day. Those are the three things that jump out in terms of the folklore that has gone down about Mark Killilea.

Like any politician, especially one who has served at county council level and as a Deputy, Senator and MEP, Mark did not get there by accident or chance but as a result of hard work. We all know that. Anyone who has served in those positions has a reputation for hard work. Mark had that reputation too. Many people have faced difficulties when boundary changes arise. He was between east and west Galway. He was around Galway at the same time as some big figures in Fianna Fáil politics, including Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, Frank Fahey, Bobby Molloy and others, and, for the Labour Party, the current President. It was a tough area before the young whippersnapper, Deputy Ó Cuív, came along later in that period. There were large figures within Fianna Fáil politics in that area. Mark was part of that and went on to serve as a Deputy, Minister of State, Senator and MEP. This shows the regard with which he was held and the reputation that he had for hard work. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.

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