Rory Kiely (Fianna Fail)

I would like to be associated with the tributes that have been paid to the former Senator, Lady Valerie Goulding. I am the only Senator present who was privileged to serve with her in the House. I was elected to the Seanad in 1977 when she was appointed by the Taoiseach, Deputy Jack Lynch. She made valuable contributions, as one might expect. As a young English girl from a very conservative background, she made her home in Ireland and embraced Irish citizenship. She proved her independence when she became a Roman Catholic.

At her funeral I listened to Father Farnan paying tribute to Lady Goulding and saying she could easily have led a life of indulgence and spent her time beside a swimming pool in the south of France. However, that was not her way. She and her great friend, Kathleen O'Rourke, identified a need and so was born the Central Remedial Clinic. She has left a great legacy in that clinic.

Lady Goulding was a wonderful person who worked for the underprivileged. I was delighted to serve in the Seanad with her from 1977 until 1981. I expressed my sympathy to her family at her funeral and I repeat that expression of sympathy now.