Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I advise the Cathaoirleach that what I am about to say will not have any impact in terms of legalities. I wish to say a few words about Tom O'Gorman, whom I was privileged to know and be friends with for approximately 20 years and who was so brutally taken from us in the early hours of Sunday morning. I had the pleasure of being in his company on Friday evening and, like all his friends and loved ones, I was shocked and devastated by his tragic death and the unnatural manner of his passing. I thank the gardaí and the emergency services personnel, who see things nobody should have to see. They do their work well and in doing so make life more bearable for us all.

Tom was a gentle person, who was blessed to be free of cynicism or dishonesty of any kind. He was highly intelligent and a clear and honest thinker. He was incredibly witty and funny, as well as enthusiastic and idealistic. His vocation was to be one of life's thinkers. I do not think he would have been as happy as an engineer, a businessman or a surgeon. He expressed his gifts and talents in his research and advocacy, primarily for the Iona Institute but also in his use of social media and his personal engagement with people. His behaviour in public mirrored the private man. He had a deep affection for children and a concern for their welfare. He was horrified about anything that could endanger or threaten them and he saw the protection of unborn children as a core part of a just and civilised society.

That something so terrible could happen to him is hard for us to comprehend. He is the latest victim of the strangeness of the world, and there will be others. However, Tom would insist - and it is important for us to do likewise on his behalf - that good, not evil, is ultimately in charge and that somewhere in the fullness of time his dramatic and violent departure from this world will be comprehended, accounted for and even turned to account in a way we cannot understand. In human terms, his time was too short, but those who knew and loved him are confident that he succeeded in all the important things.

May he rest in peace eternally and may all those who knew and loved him be consoled. We will miss him sorely.