Terry Brennan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Ba mhaith liomsa freisin fáilte a chur roimh chlann Mulroy go dtí an Seanad inniu.

Unlike my colleagues I first met Jimmy Mulroy on the GAA football fields of Louth and some of my lasting memories will be of him on the football field. That is where I first met him. As a footballer and player myself, I must acknowledge that Jimmy Mulroy never received a red, yellow or black card or warning signs because he never had his name taken on a football field for doing anything wrong. That is true and I defy anybody to beat those statistics. Somebody said that he made his senior championship debut in 1959 at 19 years of age. I can attest to the fact that he was a member of one of the greatest club teams that this country every produced, the Newtown Blues from Drogheda. I would have a few more senior medals than two if the Blues had not been around in the 1960s and 1970s but I still have great memories.

Somebody mentioned that he won nine senior championship medals which takes some doing. It also takes some doing for a man to have nine senior championship medals and be on the best football team in his county. He made his debut for Louth as a 19-year-old, played for his county for a number of years as already stated and he also played for Leinster. I am not sure whether he captained the Leinster team but he captained the Louth county team.

He joined Louth County Council in the same year as I did in 1985. I shall refer to one of my greatest memories of him. In fairness, he told everybody I met with him the same story over the years when he would recall the incident where Brennan scored three goals on him in a league final in Seamus Kirk's home village of Knockbridge. I am glad to see Seamus seated in the Visitors Gallery. He is another gentleman in politics, as was the late Jimmy Mulroy. If Jimmy mentioned the incident to me on one occasion he said it 1,000 times. Somebody said that he never had an enemy and I can attest to that fact. He played the game within the rules and was also astute in his reading of a game. He was an exemplary sportsman. I would love to see young men and women emulate his legacy on the football fields of this country.

We joined the council together in 1985.

I was only 16 years of age then. Jimmy was a few years older than me. We will forget about that.

He waited 22 years to chair Louth County Council. I waited 20 years to become chairman. I remember vividly the 1989 election and Jimmy being beaten by five votes. One family did not turn out but that is what it was. I think there was a recount as well. I would not like it to go on the record but I feel that Brendan McGahan wished it went the other way on that occasion, as did I, quite honestly.

He was a gentleman and a true Drogheda man. He made a significant contribution to the business world of county Louth. There were not many businesses which were so successful. In his latter years, for a man who was so agile and fit, it was sad to see him suffer. He was well looked after and I must congratulate his family, including his brother and sister, on how well he was looked after. I have great memories of him. I did not serve in the Seanad with him but I have heard of his contribution to the Seanad. I extend my sympathies to Chris, Caoimhe, Cormac, Christine, his sister Helen, his brother Dermot and all his immediate friends and colleagues in Fianna Fáil. I mean it. He was popular all over the House and based on my experience of him in Louth County Council, he made a significant contribution. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.