Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I can agree totally with Senator Daly today and with everything that has been said. It is all very true. Tom, as has been said, was a man of great wit and humour. He was a true friend and a man whose smile always led to a very good chat. He was pleasant and always very easy to get on with. I served with him here from 1997 until 2002. One of my greatest honours was being a member of the Dingle Harbour Commissioners from 1991 until 1997, when Tom was the chairman. He was a very fair chairman and was very good to me. We differed politically but I was the only Fine Gael man on the board. Tom was the greatest friend I could have had serving on it.

When talking about the loss of Tom, I obviously find it difficult to be humorous. Everything that has been said about him and the late Charlie Haughey is true. They were great friends. Tom was the official, or unofficial, caretaker of the island of Inishvickillaun. A great story, apocryphal or otherwise, that Senators have probably all heard is about when Charlie's house was being built on the island. Tom was the chief caretaker or supervisor. A bad storm like the one we are experiencing at present struck the island and the workmen were marooned. Apparently the basement had been constructed and the late Taoiseach had installed some very good wines from a famous French château. The workmen decided it would be a shame to see it go to waste and laid into it as they had nothing else to pass the time in the evenings when they were marooned. Eventually, the storm passed and the boys decided that, when in Dingle, they had better replace the stock. With this in mind, they purchased some very ordinary plonk in the local supermarket.

One can imagine what the Boss thought - I never heard.

As for the stories Tom used to tell and the advice he gave, as Senator Daly has noted, it was not recorded in any book but probably was the best advice we all received at different times. I remember the filming of "Ryan's Daughter" as a young fellow working in Killarney and I believe we bought some of the stuff, such as chairs and so on, at auction afterwards. However, as has been said, Tom was a stand-in for Robert Mitchum and no doubt he was suitable because he had the stature and so on. However, he did a great deal for the Dingle Peninsula. I can remember the special effects man, Eddie Fowlie, who was one of the guys I got to know on the shoot and the help they received from Tom was simply unbelievable throughout.

Tom made sure I was appointed to the harbour board. He led the successful campaign to have a harbourmaster appointed and put me on the interview board with the then Secretary General of the Department of the Marine and another harbourmaster. I believe Tom was pleased by the outcome and the person was appointed. Talking about being marooned, I used to love attending those meetings, which took place monthly on Saturdays. I got marooned myself a few times and was unable to get out of Dingle but that is another story. Tom was a great and true friend who never let anyone down in this House. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis. I also am delighted to welcome Bridie and the entire family to the House today and we will have a good chat afterwards.