Brian Hayes (Fine Gael)

On behalf of my Fine Gael colleagues in the House, I wish to respond to the Leader's generous and warm tributes to our former colleague, Mr. Andy O'Brien. He left the House in 1987 and was known to the Cathaoirleach, Senator Ross and perhaps a small number of other Members who served with him. He was an institution in Cavan politics and in our party for the best part of 60 years. During that time, he served as a distinguished member of Cavan County Council and Cavan Urban Council, and was a Member of this House for more than 18 years.

He was the key party man for Fine Gael in Cavan and the epicentre of the party in that area. Deputy Jim O'Keeffe told me about a meeting at which Mr. O'Brien's task was to bring together the warring tribes of Cavan and Monaghan in advance of their amalgamation into a new constituency. Aware of the enmity that existed between the people of those two great counties, his first words to the gathered Fine Gael activists were that while he knew they hated each other, he asked them to work together for the next three weeks. He always showed that common sense which others in politics may only rarely possess.

It was a great privilege to be with the O'Brien family at his funeral last week, which was attended by many colleagues and others from Cavan and throughout the country. It was lovely to see the great affection in which this great man was held by his family and community. He was, first and foremost, a teacher. When he studied at the De La Salle college in Waterford, it was a hotbed of INTO activism, and he was an INTO politician in the first instance. He studied there alongside Senator Kitt's father, Michéal Kitt; Jackie Brosnan, a distinguished INTO activist and former Senator; Henry Kenny, father of the Fine Gael leader, Deputy Kenny; and Mr. Seán Brosnan, a distinguished Fianna Fáil Deputy for many years.

He was principal of the local national school in Crubany for more than 40 years, during which time he was awarded the highest honour for academic achievement, the Carlisle and Blake award for teaching. This was a tremendous achievement and a great accolade for his standard of teaching. I had the privilege of meeting him in Crubany in recent years. His was an open house, to which any students who needed help with their studies could go. People from the area went there regularly to pay homage to the great man and to seek his advice.

As a committed GAA man, the Cathaoirleach is aware that Mr. O'Brien was a distinguished member of the Ulster Council for half a century, a fact that is recorded locally and nationally. I am sometimes asked how this man from Cavan could possibly secure votes in Cork, Kerry, Limerick and other distant places. There is no doubt his deep GAA connections helped him to navigate a successful Seanad election. The Cathaoirleach would know of this.