Sean Barrett (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The late former Senator Edward Haughey was born in Kilcurry, County Louth, close to the Armagh border. I attempted last Saturday to imbibe his spirits there. From Faughart I took a right turn and as I went down that road, the man from Newry was delivering Royal Mail, probably as close to Dundalk as his route would take him. I took another turn and the speed limit signs were in the metric system again. I felt that a man from that vicinity would be very well placed to play a notable role in the reconciling of the two traditions on this island. The loyalty of Edward Haughey to his home place of Kilcurry was recognised. A boulder outside the very impressive community centre stated that is was built "with the generous support of Dr Edward Haughey and the people of this community". That community centre was formally opened by the former Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Mr. Dermot Ahern, on 15 June 2003.

There is a vintage sycamore tree in the village, which will be over 200 years old next year and which has survived many car crashes and attempts by Louth County Council to knock it down for road-widening. It is stated that it marks the boundary of three townlands: Kilcreevy, Balriggan and Carrickedmond. That set me thinking that Lord Ballyedmond started off in the townland of Carrickedmond, and he did not forget his roots. That is acknowledged in the community to this very day. He emigrated to New York on leaving school, where he acquired a prodigious reputation for hard work in selling animal drugs. As my fellow Senators have said, he returned to Newry in 1968 to establish Norbrook Laboratories, which employs 3,000 people, 2,000 of them in Northern Ireland.

His investments in research and development led to the patenting of a long-acting antibiotic drugs for animals, which brought him export orders from the United States and Africa. He had animal drug products in the entire market range; as he said himself, he could cater for anything from a poodle to a lion if animal pharmaceuticals were needed. Norbrook Laboratories won the Queen's award for export achievement four times and the Queen's award for enterprise in 2011. Those honours followed, as Senator Ó Murchú said, honorary degrees, including from the University of Ulster, and an honorary fellowship of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. He was by then one of the largest veterinary drug suppliers in Africa and 80% of the output from Newry was exported.

In his political career he ranged, as Senator Byrne and others have said, from Fianna Fáil to the Ulster Unionist Party to the Conservative Party. He came to this House on the nomination of the Taoiseach, Albert Reynolds, on 30 December 1994, in the presence and in the tradition of great Ulster Senators like Gordon Wilson, Seamus Mallon, John Robb and many others. He served also on the Forum for Peace and Reconciliation. A man with strong south Armagh and County Louth links, he was ideally placed to represent one tradition to the other. He persuaded David Trimble and the Ulster Unionists to sign up to the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. After that, David Trimble nominated him to the House of Lords and he shared the distinction of being a Member of Parliament in both countries with people like Henry Grattan. As he was loyal to his neighbours in his youth in Kilcurry, so he was loyal to this House. As Senator Quinn said, when we had the contest between David and Goliath to abolish this House and David won, Edward Haughey supported David. We are very grateful for that support and for his encouragement. It was invaluable because Edward Haughey made a stand on our behalf when so many people in the other House wanted to see the end of the Seanad and we are grateful to him for that.

On 30 March 2014, Edward Haughey was killed in a helicopter crash in Norfolk along with his colleague Declan Small from Mayobridge, a friend of the family. We also extend condolences to his family and to the families of the pilots, Carl Dickerson and Lee Hoyle. At his funeral Mass in Newry cathedral, Canon Francis Brown praised Edward Haughey's generosity to many good causes. He said that Edward made many significant donations over the years to educational establishments and charitable organisations. Most of these were never published, and many charities and schools in the locality benefited. I have in my possession very tender letters from Caroline, saying how much her father admired this House and how much he liked to visit Trinity College when his children were studying there. As Senator Bacik has said, that is reciprocated fully by us; we valued him hugely.

In Newry, Canon Brown praised a man who was "self-taught, hard-working and determined, with a thirst for knowledge". Reading through his biography, one sees that Edward Haughey's father died two months before he was born and his mother, Rose, was responsible for rearing him. We think of her today and that the family is now reunited. Later that day, after Canon Brown had spoken, Edward Haughey returned to Kilcurry for the last time. He was a remarkable man who never forgot his neighbours from his boyhood years. May he rest in peace in Kilcurry, and again, all of us in this House extend our condolences to his wife, Mary, and his children, Caroline, James and Edward. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.