Seanad debates

Wednesday, 9 December 2015

Gradam an Uachtaráin Bill 2015: Second Stage

 

10:30 am

Photo of Eamonn CoghlanEamonn Coghlan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I also welcome the Bill presented by Senator Quinn. I agree with him that there should be a civic honours system in Ireland whereby we can recognise the merits of people who have achieved phenomenal things for this island of ours, not just at home but throughout the world. I cannot understand why we do not have an honours system particularly when there is one in the United States, France and Italy, just to name a few countries. Why can we not have one?I have a few friends who received honours in their respective countries. Lord Coe and Sir Roger Bannister received honours for obvious and good reasons. Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Elton John and even the great Sir Ian Botham received awards of the highest calibre. Another great man, John Walker, a former Olympic champion in 1976, was honoured. He was a gold medalist and a great competitor of mine throughout the years. A number of years ago, at the same time I was fortunate enough to be nominated to the Seanad by An Taoiseach, which was quite a shock for me, John Walker was knighted in New Zealand and became Sir John. We had a brief conversation on the telephone. I congratulated him on being knighted and becoming Sir John and he congratulated me on becoming Senator Coghlan. I said I am only a Senator but he said I was a Senator in the Irish Government and that was a phenomenal achievement. I said to him that the bottom line was that I would only be a Senator for a very short time in my life but that he would be Sir for ever. He proposed that perhaps Senators should keep their titles for life. He said he would always refer to me as Senator Coghlan.

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