Paul Bradford (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I too am glad to have the opportunity to add to the tributes in respect of the late Sam McAughtry. I happened to be in the other House when he served here but I quickly got to know him, as did all Members of the Oireachtas then. We enjoyed his recollections and, for those horse-racing fans, we enjoyed discussing his racing tips. Another side to his make-up was that he was a noted commentator on the horse-racing industry and had many valuable insights in that regard.

He was elected to the Seanad in 1996 in one of the most interesting by-elections that had taken place for many years. As Members know, these tend to be won easily by the government side of the House. The political numbers at the time meant that a tight by-election was in the offing. The Fianna Fáil Party, in its wisdom, ran a candidate from Northern Ireland. Sam McAughtry, probably at the instigation of the then leader of Democratic Left, Proinsias De Rossa, became the candidate of the rainbow coalition Government. It was an active campaign with every Member canvassed. Strong pressure was put on government Members to ensure we turned up at the appointed time and placed our vote. Sam McAughtry secured 115 of the 221 votes cast, a significant achievement. He obviously got the support of all rainbow government Members but also the Independents, a tribute to his skills.

During Sam McAughtry’s brief time here, the first thing that always struck one about him, as Senator Quinn said, was his smile. He was always positive, happy, chatty and good company in the social spaces in Leinster House. His legacy to Northern Ireland, this House and Irish politics is significant. His time here may have been short in political terms but it was a crucial time in the peace process. We had had the breakdown in 1995 of the 1994 ceasefire. His was a voice of reasoned loyalism and Protestantism in this House which was helpful. Along with Senators Gordon Wilson, John Robb and others from Northern Ireland, they forced people in both Houses and in Irish society generally to face up to the fact that nobody had all the answers and that many of us were looking at the Northern difficulty from our own blinkered vision. Sam McAughtry and others forced us to look at all sides of the story.

I want to pay particular tribute to his work with the Peace Train Organisation. Today, all the gloss of the peace process seems to shine off those who had Pauline conversions. Few people credit the men and women who always held the firm line that while change was necessary, bombing, murder, violence and mayhem was not the way forward. Sam McAughtry and his colleagues in the Peace Train Organisation, in a simple demonstration, proved conclusively that those attempting to unite the island were dividing it further, doing grave damage to the citizens of this country. Fortunately, the will and the wisdom of Sam McAughtry and others have prevailed and we all now work in a joint framework towards peace and prosperity on this island. I thank him for that.

While his service in this House was relatively short, it was significant, along with his work as a journalist, a trade unionist and a member of the Northern Ireland Labour Party. That party did huge service for working class people on this island and never asked one’s religion. It was a working class party about the working class and working people, not about sectarianism which, again, is conveniently forgotten by so many. Sam McAughtry left a proud legacy of work, literature and an example of how real peace and dialogue can make a difference.

I sympathise with his daughters. He is fondly remembered by all Members who had the privilege and pleasure of meeting him.