Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is a custom in this House that we pay tribute to former Members and I am delighted that Jack's widow and five children are in the Public Gallery today to listen to the tributes we have to offer. I hope that they will give them some satisfaction.

I offer the collective sympathy of this side of the House. Some Members may have dealt with Jack through politics or through his profession as an architect and a distinguished author. Jack first came to national prominence in 1971 when he penned what was to become a best-selling book called Bungalow Bliss.This work challenged many of the preconceived ideas held at the time about development practices. It is credited nationally with making the construction of homes more affordable by reducing the prices people paid for professional plans from architects and draftsmen. Interest in the book and its ideas continues today in the context of the debate on one-off housing, which has been brought to the floor of this House on many occasions. Jack continued to write and went on to publish a history of his native parish in Kilbeg, entitled The Parish of Kilbeg. This was an indication of Jack's pride of place and sense of community, both of which served him well in his public life. He also authoredDemocracy Be Damned, as well as books on County Meath's heritage and its thatched cottages. The latter includes photographs he took during and after his political career.

Following a term on the urban council in Kells, Jack first entered Seanad Éireann in 1983 when he was elected from the Industrial and Commercial Panel. He was elected as a Fianna Fáil Member to the 17th Seanad and was subsequently re-elected in 1987, serving on both occasions with a nomination from the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland, RIAI, an organisation he represented with distinction in the House. He lost his seat in 1989 and resigned from Fianna Fáil in the same year, following a well-documented falling out with his then party leader. It was around this time that he wrote Democracy Be Damned, which has a certain humour to its title.

Following his time as a Senator, Jack stood in the local and European elections as an independent candidate on an anti-blood sport ticket, seeking a mandate for his view that hare coursing should be banned. He was elected to Meath County Council on that platform and worked tirelessly to highlight the plight of the hare in the Irish countryside. He organised a march from his native Kells to Dublin where he spoke to a large gathering outside Dáil Éireann about the need to protect the Irish hare. This spoke volumes of his devotion to the cause. In 1994 Jack published a book in which he made a powerful case against hare coursing,Coursing Ban Be Damned, continuing his whimsical and ironic humour in the titling of his works. He went on to back Deputy Tony Gregory's attempt to tackle hare coursing by means of a Private Member's Bill in 1993. Although the measure was voted down, it led to coursing clubs muzzling greyhounds from then on.

Jack is a loss to his numerous friends in many fields, including in the Irish political landscape and in Kells where he served as a councillor. It is his family, however, who will miss him most. I wish to express my sincere sympathy to his wife and family on behalf of the Government. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.