Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Ar son Pháirtí an Lucht Oibre, déanaim comhbhrón ó chroí le muintir an iar-Theachta Hillery. My sympathies and those of my Labour Party colleagues are with the family of former TD and Senator Brian Hillery, who died in January 2021.

From conversations with a Fianna Fáil Member of this House, I know that the news of his death brought much sadness to all those who knew him during his long years of public service. Professor Hillery began his political career in the Seanad. He served there for many years until he contested and won a seat in the Dún Laoghaire constituency. It is clear that those who served with Professor Hillery in the Oireachtas remember him as a courteous and intelligent man.

I understand that Eamon Gilmore, former Deputy and Labour Party leader, was elected to Dáil Éireann for the Dún Laoghaire constituency for the first time on the same day as Professor Hillery in the 1989 general election. In his words of commemoration, he described the late Professor Hillery as a gentleman. Accounts I have heard from those who knew him personally demonstrate this was an accurate descriptor. As well as serving as a Senator and Deputy, Professor Hillery was successful in several other fields. As an academic, he was the first professor of industrial relations at UCD. He also served as Ireland's representative on the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, EBRD, as a director of the Central Bank of Ireland and as a financial regulator. It was a career filled with accomplishments.

He will be missed very much by family, friends and former colleagues alike. I note that his death occurred during a challenging time for the State, as grieving families were asked to continue to comply with Covid-19 restrictions and to cope with their bereavement in a very different way. Following the opening of society last year, I hope that members of Professor Hillery's family have been able to mark his impressive life in a way that helps them to heal. I further hope that the many testimonies to his kind personal qualities and his career achievements will have been of comfort to them. I send the Labour Party's condolences to Professor Hillery's wife, Miriam, and his children, Cliona, Conor, Eugene, Brian and Gavin, and his wider family. To his grandchildren who are here listening to these statements, I hope they will never forget this day when they were in Leinster House and Dáil Éireann listening to Members of the Oireachtas speaking so kindly and warmly about their grandfather. He served this country to the best of his abilities and that is a great testament to him and to his family.

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