Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)

I will start by quoting the great and famous poet, Thackeray, to commemorate Peter's passing:

We are atoms that float down the river of years,

On our way to the ultimate sea,

And life with its changes, its tears and its joys,

Brings its changes to you and to me.

But as these fast fleeting years go by,

We lose sight of each other at last,

But remember,Peter, that you and I,

We are friends in the far reaching past.

I stand here today to celebrate Peter's life out of joy rather than sadness and to acknowledge his great contribution. He was a family man first and foremost and I extend my sympathies to his wife Sheila, his sons Gerard, Liam, David and Denis, his daughters Deirdre and Fionnuala, his brothers John and Paddy and his 18 grandchildren. The greatest epitaph to Senator Callanan is the fact that all his family are here today with us to pay tribute to him and celebrate his life.

Peter came form the Parish of Ardfield. He played football in his younger days with a club called St. James's. He was keenly involved with the old NFA, which was subsequently the IFA. His nominating body to the Senate was ICOS. He was a spokesman on agriculture in this House and a close confidant of the then Minister for Agriculture and Food, the former Deputy Joe Walsh. He was a household name in the town of Bandon. Peter was first elected to Cork County Council in 1979 and he increased his vote every time he stood for the council after that, and got close to 3,500 first preferences at one stage.

Apart from being a great family man, he was a dedicated Christian and a great believer in Padre Pio. The oration given by Senator Labhrás Ó Murchú at the church in Innishannon on the day of his funeral does much greater justice to his life than anything I can say here today. He loved his pipe. He was a life-long member of the Pioneer Association. Many people might not know that he was a very capable dancer. Somebody referred to him in the church in Innishannon as "Tippy Toes". For a big man, he was very light on his feet. We should remember the fond things about Peter.

I met him for the first time in 1969 as a garsún at a convention in Cork South-West. I got to know him better at the first European elections in 1974. I met him in Schull at a Comhairle Cheantar meeting and we became friends. There were times when Peter was with Joe Walsh during elections in that side of the constituency, but we never fell out over it. When the election was over, we were always friends and always had a chat.

He was elected here in 1997 on his second attempt. He lost out in 1993 by a fraction of a vote on the agricultural panel.

Peter came to me some months later, having signed up for his salary here and told me he had received a letter telling him he needed a PPS number and asked me what it was. I said that surely he had a PPS number. He told me that he struggled in farming all his life and had never paid tax. He said that if anything he was owed money for raising a family on a mountainy farm in west Cork. At first I thought he was joking, but he did not have a PPS number until he came here. He was very annoyed that having been elected to Seanad Éireann he was dragged into the tax net.

I was elected chairman of Cork County Council on 13 July 1989 and Peter Callanan was very ill at the time. Peter was in the Mercy Hospital and could not attend a party meeting held a few days prior to 13 July. He attended on 13 July to vote and he was elected vice chairman. Some years later he told me he had been on his uppers at the time and fighting for his life - he was seriously ill - but that because he was vice chairman he had to attend functions that I could not attend in Ireland and abroad, which gave him great impetus to go forward. He was brilliant at it.

Peter will be remembered for how he contributed in a quiet way. He had a great knowledge of agriculture, rural life and issues such as rural planning and he fought for them. Peter would wander quietly around the streets of Bandon, perhaps calling up to the convent for a cup of tea and attending the local church. That was how he held his clinics. I do not think Peter held a formal clinic in the Munster Arms or in Innishannon. He moved among the people and that was reflected in the fantastic vote he received. Peter eventually entered the Seanad in 1997 and was re-elected in 2002. As the Leader stated, his greatest political battle was to get re-elected from a very strong field in the election of 2007. That campaign was extremely difficult for all of us who went through it but Peter had an uncanny knack of getting votes. It was like the flying column in west Cork in the old days - and Peter was very republican - as he poked out votes in most unusual places. I did an intense canvass, not for the first time as I did the Seanad trail three times, and Peter rang me on an almost daily basis. On one occasion, halfway through the campaign, I told him that I had good news as I thought he would be elected. He told me he was very worried so I explained that I had been with X, Y and Z in the previous week and that I could not understand how he was picking up votes. These votes were not all Fianna Fáil votes as we know from how the votes panned out. He achieved this against the grain and this is a proud moment.

I feel no sorrow today; the sorrow is behind me. I feel joy for what Peter Callanan gave us as a person, a county councillor and a Senator. I have no doubt he is smiling down on us doing the spadework while he is relaxed, smoking a pipe with a wry smile in his eye. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.