Mark Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Very few have embodied the spirit, the humanity and the best of mankind more than the late President Nelson Mandela. Few have suffered as much as he has at the hands of an oppressor and had the capacity in his spirit to forgive those who imprisoned him. He certainly personified the best of that line which has been attributed to many but is befitting for him, which is that he was a credit to his race, the human race. He joins an immortal few who have triumphed under huge adversity against enormous odds. He struggled and prevailed in the end. In the history of mankind, hundreds and thousands have triumphed over adversity, but very few have triumphed against such enormous odds and such huge opponents, when they were being judged not on the content of their character, but on the colour of their skin. We had examples in Frederick Douglas, Martin Luther King Jr. and President Mandela.

There is a sacred line in the American declaration of independence that "all men are created equal". That is a line echoed in our 1916 Proclamation that the Republic "guarantees equal rights and equal opportunities for all its citizens". Citizens like Frederick Douglas dedicated their lives to the abolition of slavery and although Lincoln emancipated the slaves during the course of a civil war where black and white men gave their last full measure for the attainment of that line that all men are created equal, I truly believe that such a pledge has not yet been attained. Perhaps some day it may be within the capacity of humanity to fulfil that sacred pledge. Martin Luther King Jr. was another man who gave his last full measure to attain the rights of others. He did this so that the dream that those, regardless of the circumstances of their birth, could attain their full potential. He did not live to see that dream fulfilled, but he wanted all men to be judged by the content of their character and not the colour of their skin.

President Mandela dedicated his life to the struggle of the African people. He fought against white domination and he also fought to prevent black domination. He was willing to die for his beliefs, for the ideal to see people living together as equals, with equal rights and equal opportunities, in a democratic and free society. That was his achievement in South Africa. It is our cause today and the cause of humanity into the future.