Brendan Ryan (Labour)

I served here for a good number of years with Larry McMahon. While we did not always agree, he was a person with whom one could have disagreements without having any serious personal conflict. We were always on good terms outside the House. He was a good humoured and sociable man, and was agreeable to deal with on a personal level. Without a doubt, he stood for, and did, what he believed to be right in politics. There is no better compliment one can pay to any active politician than to say that he was driven by beliefs that were more important to him than mere electoral success. Like the rest of us, he was not averse to trying to get votes. However, he never gave me or anyone else the slightest hint that his principles were ever for sale in order to improve his electoral prospects. He believed that people respected those who told them the truth about themselves. I respected him for that, although we did not always or often agree. In the greater picture, however, political disagreement is a minor matter. The quality of the individual is far more significant. As somebody with whom one could discuss life's ups and downs, Larry McMahon was likeable and respected.

Living, as I do, some 160 miles from Dublin, I would not have known much about his family but it is striking to hear the unanimous view of my colleagues on the intensity of his family's strength and support for him, and his loyalty to them. It confirms my views of him as a man who had convictions and loyalties that were based on what he believed to be right. He lived according to that creed, which is a good tribute to be able to pay to a former colleague. On behalf of my party and on my own behalf I wish to extend sympathy to his immediate family, his extended family and his party. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.