Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I am honoured to pay a warm and well deserved tribute to the late Larry McMahon. I welcome his family, who are with us in the Distinguished Visitors Gallery, his children Ronan, Lorcan, Claire, Niamh, Conor and Ciarán, as well as his sister, Sister Pascal. They could be making this tribute today because they know better than anyone else how passionately Larry McMahon believed in politics and in his community. They can measure the commitment he showed on so many occasions when he had to leave home to attend to his public duties, spending nights over the years solving or attempting to solve problems in his community, or when he sought support and votes in rain, hail or shine. The public business was his business and he did it extraordinarily well.

Larry McMahon represented the people of Tallaght for more than three decades. They know that he always did that work with passion and diligence as well as with a considerable degree of grace and good humour. His absolute belief in public service and in the party that he served made it a pleasure to work with him. His passing was marked by a genuine regret and personal sadness by all of us who knew him. Many Members in this and the previous Dáil may not have known him, but we always pay tribute in this House to those who served the nation in their own way.

Larry McMahon was a great Christian in word and by example. He certainly was not afraid to voice his Christian beliefs and to stand up at parliamentary party meetings in the 1980s when serious social issues were being discussed and debated throughout the country. All who knew him will appreciate that he lived his religion, being a kind, generous and thoughtful man.

His wife Ursula — go ndéanadh Dia trócaire uirthi — died last year and life changed utterly for Larry. He missed her desperately and those who knew him well said that once she passed on, he made up his mind to follow her as soon as he could. Anyone who saw them together knew that they were the epitome of two people who really loved each other. In the midst of the excitement of a big match in Croke Park last year, he said to me that while it was a wonderful occasion, he was not a happy man. It was perfectly obvious why that was the case.

We have lost a loyal colleague and an exemplary public servant, but Larry's family here have lost a terrific father, a loving brother and a true friend. I offer them the sincere sympathy of the Fine Gael Party, which their father and brother served so well. On behalf of the House, we offer that sympathy to the family. He had a great sense of occasion and for such a proper Christian, paying tributes to him on Ash Wednesday of all days would be something for him.

In such a material world, Lent is a time when we get to think about the big questions. Who are we and why are we here? On this Ash Wednesday, it is safe to say that Larry McMahon, with a head start on all of us, probably knows the answer to both questions. The House and politics are less for his passing. In paying tribute to him, Larry McMahon's family will appreciate far better words than mine, which were written by T.S. Eliot to commemorate Ash Wednesday:

Suffer us not to mock ourselves with falsehood

Teach us to care and not to care

Teach us to sit still

Even among these rocks,

Our peace in His will

And even among these rocks

Sister, mother

And spirit of the river, spirit of the sea,

Suffer me not to be separated

And let my cry come unto Thee.

God bless you Larry. We appreciate your public service. I hope you are in heaven.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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On behalf of the Fianna Fáil Party and on my own behalf, I extend my sympathies to Deputy Kenny and the Fine Gael Party, to the members of the McMahon family with us today and to those who are not. I knew Larry McMahon well from his days in the House but I got to know him and his brother in the 1960s when my sister and brother-in-law were farming in Piperstown in Bohernabreena up in the famous country of St. Anne's. He and his brother had a butcher shop and my sister went there regularly. When I met Larry years later in the House, I always had a great friendship with him. We shared a love of the GAA. I am subject to correction, but Larry told me he was born in Kildare, but he was a great supporter and my last occasion to meet him was when we were both shouting for the Dubs against Tyrone last year to no great avail. He was always a lovely person to meet.

He made an extraordinary contribution to politics, having entered Dublin County Council in 1965 and remained there for 30 long years and through his great service to his community during his time in both Houses of the Oireachtas. As I knew him from way back, every time I met him in the Oireachtas I always spoke to him. He was very friendly and generous. I will always remember him as courteous and kind and someone who was committed to the rapidly developing community of Tallaght. My conversation with Larry tended to be about Tallaght and how it had changed from the early 1960s, when I would meet him on the big hill in Bohernabreena or near Saint Anne's Church, to what it has become over the past 20 years as a result of constant development. Larry was part of all of that.

He had a great interest in the community and the public good and put a huge effort into that as well as working for his community and party. His reputation in politics was always that of a true gentleman, combining great strategic capability and a friendly charm. He was a man of great religious faith and that was very important to him. He was respected right across the political board. He had many friends on this side of the House as well.

I join Deputy Kenny and Members of the House in extending our sympathies to his daughters, Claire and Niamh, as well as to Lorcan, Ronan, Ciarán and Conor. We also remember Ursula today. I hope it brings consolation to the children that their parents are now reunited and that the House pays tribute to a fine public representative and a very decent person.

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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On my behalf and on behalf of the Labour Party, I join Deputy Kenny and the Taoiseach in paying tribute to our late colleague, former Deputy Larry McMahon, and in offering sincere condolences to his family. I agree with everything Deputy Kenny and the Taoiseach have said about Larry McMahon's qualities, his commitment to public life and the fervency with which he held his views and argued his position.

I worked in the same constituency with him for a long time and I remember him as a Deputy, Senator and councillor. At that time the constituency of Dublin South-West was very different from what it is now. Larry McMahon was there from the beginning and the formation of a new community put extraordinary demands on the public representatives who were elected in and served that area. Larry McMahon never shirked his share of the workload and the people of the area owe him a great deal. I was pleased to be able to attend the funeral where their appreciation was evident.

As the Taoiseach said, Bohernabreena is a particularly beautiful part of my constituency. Bohernabreena and the area up the Dublin Mountains is a magnificent part of this county. At the time Larry McMahon started in politics there was nothing below that area because the population of Tallaght was that of a small village compared to the more than 90,000 people who live there now.

As Deputy Kenny said, Larry McMahon held strong Christian beliefs and he never departed from them in his public position on many of the social issues that were dealt with during the 1980s in particular. I might not have agreed with him on everything but I admired his trenchant conviction of the rightness of his views. He never departed from that.

I was somewhat amused by the priest who presided at the funeral. He said that at one stage he had appealed to the parishioners from the pulpit in Firhouse to vote for Larry McMahon. He said he was fearful that he would get a belt of the crozier from Drumcondra but that did not happen. It caused something of a frisson in some sections of the congregation although I was not too disturbed by it. I was a lot more disturbed when the priest went on to say that after Larry McMahon retired from politics he reverted to his old voting pattern. I doubt that it was for the Labour Party.

On my behalf and on behalf of the Labour Party, I offer our sympathies to his sister, who is in the Distinguished Visitors Gallery, and to Ronan and the rest of the clan. He was a tremendous family man, which was acknowledged in the area. I am sorry for his passing.

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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I join the Leader of Fine Gael, the Taoiseach and Deputy Rabbitte in paying my tribute to Larry McMahon. I knew him very well. Although he was a Member of the Dáil in 1977 when I became a Member of the Seanad, it was through his involvement with Dublin County Council that I got to know him best. In Dublin County Council he had a strong passion, as I had, during those years for ensuring people from small villages such as Bohernabreena, Saggart, Rathcoole and Newcastle, as they were then, could live in their own area. He had a great phrase which he regularly used when addressing the manager: "Manager, the villages are not just for the birds." He said it with such vigour that it impressed.

He came to see me on one occasion in the 1980s and he was very sad, which was unusual for Larry. One of his children was seriously ill and he said to me that it would take a miracle for her to recover. However, she did recover and he was very proud of that. The last encounter I had with him was around this time last year at the annual mass for the sick in Whitehall. I met Larry and Ursula there. I had not been aware of it but he told me that Ursula was unwell. She was with him and seemed strong and determined but they told me the illness was terminal. He was devastated and was crying. She died shortly afterwards and when I attended her funeral I saw a broken and devastated man. They were very much a team who lived for their children.

Larry McMahon was extremely popular in Bohernabreena. At one level he was an old style politician. He was deeply conservative and did not share many of my perspectives on some issues. He used to caution me about some of the positions I took. I know the priest to whom Deputy Rabbitte referred. I doubt that he voted for the Labour Party and he certainly did not vote for the Progressive Democrats. I believe he would have been close to the Taoiseach's persuasion. However, in Bohernabreena people of every persuasion respected and loved Larry McMahon. He was a great neighbour and a great man for the community.

He leaves a wonderful family of four sons and two daughters. For any child to lose a parent is always difficult but to lose both parents at such a young age and in such a short timeframe is a devastating blow for them. As I was away, I was sorry to be unable to attend his funeral. I would have loved to have been there because I had a very good friendship with Larry McMahon over many years.

On my behalf and on behalf of the Progressive Democrats, I extend my sympathy to Claire, Niamh, Lorcan, Ronan, Ciarán and Conor, to his sister and his wider family and to the Fine Gael Party, which has lost a committed party supporter and member.

Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)
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Ar mo shon féin agus ar son an Chomhaontais Ghlais, ba mhaith liom mo chomhbhrón a chur in iúl do mhuintir Larry McMahon. On my behalf and on behalf of the Green Party, I extend my sympathies to the family of Larry McMahon, who are with us today, and to the Fine Gael Party, which has lost someone who was one of its long-standing, legendary characters as well as being a public representative.

Larry McMahon would have been mentioned frequently in conversation among family and friends I have in Templeogue, Firhouse and Saggart. In many ways he was part of the folklore of politics for me when I was a child. To that extent, I knew him more as a brand than as a person but his name and influence were widespread in the area he represented and loved so much. He is well remembered and well respected by many in the community and outside the area he represented. I am aware from what has been said here and from people in the area how much he was respected and is missed. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam uasal.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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On behalf of the Sinn Féin Deputies, I join other speakers in expressing our sympathy to the family of the late former Deputy Larry McMahon. To his sister, his sons and daughters, his grandchildren and his extended family, we convey our sincere condolences. I also offer sympathy to Deputy Kenny and the Fine Gael Party on the loss of somebody who was a stalwart representative in a number of fora over many years.

Following the death of former Deputy McMahon, whom I did not have the pleasure or privilege to meet, I spoke to my colleague, Deputy Crowe, who represents the same area. He described the late former Deputy McMahon as a decent and honourable person. By all accounts that view is universally held. The Taoiseach mentioned that the late Larry McMahon was born in County Kildare and had a great passion for Dublin football. As a Monaghan native, born and bred in the home of the McMahons, I often wondered over the days since his death if he had any association with the land of the McMahons. The town of Monaghan was built by the clan.

I again extend our sympathies. All I can do is put my hand on my heart and live in hope that when he was making other choices, he might have considered Sinn Féin. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.

Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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As Deputy for Dublin South-West, I would like to be associated with the kind words said about the late Larry McMahon. He was a wonderful man, who was not partisan in his approach. He and the late Sean Walsh worked tirelessly for the Tallaght area at a time when the area was growing and going through its growing pains as a community and constituency. He worked in a non-partisan way with the late Sean Walsh. They both more or less operated a tag team approach to all sorts of issues, local and otherwise, which worked very well for the people of Tallaght as that community grew in strength.

I express my sympathy to his family. He was a man of great religious faith and strength of purpose. I remember being on a parliamentary visit to Jerusalem with him. It was clear that it was a marvellous journey for a man of his faith, and marvellous for him to see the centre of his Christian worship and the many biblical sites which we visited that Easter time. It was lovely to see it. Despite his religious faith, he was a deeply amusing and humorous man. He was not afraid to have a go or have a crack at people on any basis, so he was great company and a real gentleman.

Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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It is kind of the Ceann Comhairle to allow me to say a few words. It is good in any debate to hear Tallaght mentioned so often but we are thinking and talking about Larry McMahon, my friend and neighbour from Tallaght. It is sad on this special religious day that we also remember that he and his colleague Ruairí Brugha were both elected for the Tallaght area in 1973. It is a long time ago and we remember them both.

The first time I met Larry was during the by-election which he won in 1970, a time when Fine Gael had three Deputies representing the Tallaght area, as was also the case in 1973. Much has been said about Larry and his political legacy so I will not repeat that. However, the local newspaper, the Tallaght Echo, summed up all our feelings a couple of weeks ago when it stated: "Tallaght says goodbye to Larry McMahon."

We all remember what he achieved as a Deputy, a Senator, a member of the Council of Europe and a member of Dublin County Council. All of us valued his friendship and valued the great work he did. He loved Tallaght and lived in Bohernabreena from 1932. He often reminded us that he was educated in Firhouse. I got to know him and his family over many years. They were always polite and civil to me. I miss Larry already. His wife Ursula died on my son Robert's birthday on 12 June last. She and Larry will be remembered.

Larry made many impressions on me but one in particular remains. He was the man who told me that politics was about being in the right place at the right time and being ready. He was ready in 1970.

I never served in the Oireachtas or on the council with Larry but I served with him on a number of school boards. One of the VEC boards of which he was a member was the board of Tallaght Community School, a famous institution. He served an amazing 32 years on that board. The board chairman, Myles Berkeley, reminded me recently that when we were discussing difficult issues in the school and difficult pupils that needed assistance, Larry would always wait until the end of the discussion and try to save the situation for the pupil. That showed his caring outlook.

I join colleagues in expressing my deepest sympathy to Lorcan, Ronan, Claire, Ciarán, Conor and Niamh, who I always felt should be a politician — perhaps there is time yet. I also sympathise with Larry's sister, Sister Pascal, his 11 grandchildren and the wider McMahon family, and also with the Bohernabreena community, who will miss Larry for a long time. I offer my sympathy to Deputy Kenny and the Fine Gael party, particularly my friends in the Fine Gael organisation in the Tallaght region. It is a sad occasion. It is good that we would pause on this special day to think about Larry McMahon. I offer my deepest sympathy.

Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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I want to be included in the sympathy extended to the family of the late Larry McMahon and his colleagues in Fine Gael. I knew Larry. I found him to be a very honest and upright person. My last meeting with him concerned the question of local people in Bohernabreena trying to get housing for their sons and daughters due to the difficulties in obtaining planning permission.

He was very involved through the years and we met at various meetings. He had a vision for the growth of Tallaght. He was one of those who talked in terms of the positive effects of The Square for the people of Tallaght. His work on the school boards of management was remarked to me on several occasions, as was his remarkable level of attendance. Many people who are selected to serve on boards of management, particularly politicians, do not bother to turn up but Larry turned up regularly. I know of one woman who used to telephone the family home and his wife, Ursula, always made sure that Larry attended the meetings. The board of management and the school appreciated this.

I listened to a eulogy from Larry's son at his funeral. He certainly brought his father alive to all who were present in the church that day. We saw another side of Larry as a father. His son told of a visit to East Germany when the Berlin Wall was still up. Larry in his usual manner decided to take photographs, causing uproar at the checkpoint. If I remember correctly, one of the military police stopped Larry and told him he could not take photographs and asked him his name. Larry replied: "An bhfuil cead agam dul go dtí an leithreas?" I thought that story gave another insight into the man. Larry was full of character and wit, a side which might not have been evident to those who met him at meetings. He believed strongly in public service and spent his whole life in the service of those he represented. He will be sadly missed by the people of Tallaght.