John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It may surprise some colleagues and even the family that a Dublin Deputy would want to make a contribution. I never served with Noel Treacy in this House, but I served in three Governments, working for a Minister, in which Noel Treacy served. They were heady electoral days for my party, Fianna Fáil. Noel was considered part of the country and western element of the party, along with the famous Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, Pat The Cope Gallagher, Brian Cowen and Albert Reynolds. One of the remarkable things about him was that he was appointed by Albert Reynolds, but also by Bertie Ahern. It says a lot about the personality of the man.

The reason I wished to make a very brief contribution today is that I worked for a former Minister of State, Tom Kitt, in another Department, first as his assistant and then as his adviser. There were days when Fianna Fáil enjoyed substantial wins in elections that delivered a multiplicity of seats in a number of constituencies. There were legendary rivalries because Fianna Fáil candidates held two seats out of four, or three seats out of five. So legendary were some of those rivalries, some of which were infamous, that there were colleagues who were barely on speaking terms. The point I wish to make was about the great affection in which Noel Treacy was held by the Kitt family and the great affection in which the Kitt family was held by Noel Treacy. It always struck me forcibly, aside from the great encouragement he gave me when we would meet on the corridors.

It was something that always struck me very forcefully, aside from the great encouragement he gave me when we met on the corridors. If I may be so bold, I will conclude by quoting the poet Longfellow because it seems apt given everything that has been said about Noel:

Lives of great men all remind us

We can make our lives sublime,

And, departing, leave behind us

Footprints on the sands of time.

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