Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am very honoured to have the opportunity to be associated with the tribute to former Senator Jack Fitzsimons. I am alone in those present in having served with Senator Fitzsimons as I was first elected in 1987 and he was here for two years after that. Reference has been made to a very distinguished career both in national and local politics and I will not reiterate all that has been said about the detail of that political career.

We all know, of course, about Bungalow Bliss. A rather interesting aspect is that it generated controversy and I understand there was a disagreement between Jack and the environmental journalist, Mr. Frank McDonald, who coined the phrase "bungalow blitz" as part of a series of articles attacking what he called the spreading fungus of the proliferation of ribbon development bungalows in Ireland. In an essay, the academic, Mr. Stephen Quilley, highlights the country's planning laws rather than the architectural qualities of the bungalows as being the main problem of the time. The essay refers to one of the core drivers of Bungalow Bliss, which was that "bright, modern bungalows were synonymous with an escape from rural poverty and domestic drudgery". As we know, Jack published a further range of books on aspects of Meath, its heritage and politics, as well as some fiction.

On a more personal level, reference has been made to his falling out with Fianna Fáil. He was a bitter opponent of Mr. Charles Haughey and, as Senator Byrne noted, he was a man of great principle and enormous political courage. I remember he took the position against hare coursing at a number of parliamentary party meetings during my time here when there would have been a very powerful hare coursing lobby. Senator Byrne was correct in his description of the anecdote involving Senators Lynch and Fitzsimons and the Tipperary councillors. I remember canvassing at the time and being asked straight out my position and that of Senator Fitzsimons. I regret to say that my opinion now is the same as my opinion then. He lost his Seanad seat directly as a result of the position he took on hare coursing within the Fianna Fáil group. He was certainly one of the most effective Senators, as has been outlined.

There was a bit of a joke about Jack as the amount of correspondence he sent to councillors throughout the country was voluminous. It is a tradition of all Senators relying on county councillors to be elected that they would keep in touch regularly, but Jack always went the extra mile. As a new Senator, I was deeply in awe of his ability to connect with his councillors, which makes it all the more sad and regrettable that it was on that issue - my contemporaries of the time would agree - that he lost his election. It was not because he was a poor Senator or because he did not contact his electorate. It certainly was not because of the extraordinary and frequent contributions he made in the House.

His resignation from Fianna Fáil was regretted by many of us who knew Jack as a decent and honourable man but who also understood him as a man of great passion and strength of principle. He just did not like Charlie Haughey. It happened after his defeat in the Seanad election. He subsequently wrote a book, which has probably been referred to here, and it was interesting to us here that he referred to his time in the Seanad, highlighting those people who had impressed him. I obviously did not have much of an impact on Jack as I was not mentioned. I remember very well poring through the book to find the names of the people to whom he referred and whether they were good, bad or indifferent. He was not in any way critical but it was his opinion nonetheless. It was a matter of great regret to me at the time that I was not mentioned in Jack's opus.

Jack was very friendly with the then chairman of the General Council of Irish County Councils, which has now been renamed. The man, former councillor Jim Joe Shortt from County Leitrim, would have been known to both of my colleagues. He and Jack had a very strong rapport. In the 1997 election, Jim Joe and I were very close friends. He came to me saying that Jack was a very good friend and an Independent councillor and that he would go to Kells to try to get Jack to vote for me. I welcomed that, of course, and I remember as if it were yesterday being in the house in Kells, having the chat and, before we left, Jack saying he would give me the number one, not because of me but because of Jim Joe Shortt. He did not mean that in any sort of negative sense at all but he was still somewhat estranged from Fianna Fáil. He did it in a most gentle way and from my perspective, it did not matter at the end of the day as I was getting the vote. I had no doubt about the vote and as those of us who have gone through a Seanad election will testify, a voter may not follow through every time he or she indicates she will vote for a person. I knew, leaving Kells and knowing Jack, that he had nailed his colours to the mast. I remembered that in the course of trying to gather some thoughts about my time with Jack here.

The family must be justifiably proud of the long legacy he has left. It is something for a politician to have a legacy and something for people to talk about, even long after that person's passing. I extend my deepest sympathy to all the family, including Anne, who is here, and also to Cora, Lana, Lloyd, Emila and Ken, as well as the grandchildren, who are also here. As often happens between younger and older generations, they probably miss their grandad more than anybody. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.