Mary O'Rourke (Fianna Fail)

I rise to express my sympathy to the wife and daughters and immediate family of the late Liam Burke, who was both a Deputy on seven occasions and who served in this House twice, once by appointment and once by election. I did not know him well but I knew him around the Houses and always found him to be very urbane, charming and nice with all the qualities one would like to see in a public representative. In particular, he was held in great affection in Cork. I am aware that the Cathaoirleach knew him although I am not sure whether he was here during Liam Burke's time in the Seanad.

Liam Burke had a great quality of being able to bounce back. He lost his seat on two separate occasions but got back in on subsequent occasions. Cork holds him in great honour and affection for all his work over the years. We always talk about public service, how important it is and how wonderful it is to have it when we stand up here. Liam Burke had public service in bucketfuls. It was what he dealt with all the time, both for and with his constituents. We cannot all be Cork people but if we could, we would want to be like the late Liam Burke. He was a gentleman. I recall a comment in a newspaper that he was what was described as "a gent". It is an old-fashioned term but it suited the man, his occupation and how he did his business. He was very urbane and always well turned out and groomed — things one would like to see in a public representative.

I saw his wife Noreen on television this morning when she was in the Distinguished Visitors Gallery in the Dáil and his two sisters and I believe they were very impressed with the kind things people were saying. Of course, one can say kind things and not mean them but in Liam Burke's case he was everything that everybody said he was. Cork will long remember him.

Deputy Kenny had a very funny joke about a young chap who was leaving Cork to work in Dublin. It was a long tale but the gist of it was that they could not all be Cork people but that the person in question had to keep his mouth shut about that. He was better than any of them. There is no doubt that the sense of proprietorship that Cork people feel about their own is immense. On behalf of my party, I offer my sympathy to Senator Brian Hayes and Fine Gael and to all of the parties here but most of all to Liam's wife Noreen and their two daughters. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.