Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Tá an-bhród orm agus ar mo chlann go bhfuil an lá seo tagtha. Tá áthas mór orm bheith anseo inniu mar Chathaoirleach Sheanad Éireann. Cé nach bhfuil an Ghaeilge go flúirseach agam, molaim do na Seanadóirí go léir í a úsáid chomh minic agus is féidir. Tá grá mór agam don teanga, ach tá a lán de caillte agam de bharr easpa cleachtadh, is dócha. Mar sin, ba mhaith liom an Ghaeilge a úsáid chomh minic agus is féidir sa seomra seo.

I am very honoured and privileged, as is my family, and I am reflecting on a matter. My father used to tell us a few stories over the old open fire. I am not sure from where the quotation comes but it flips into my mind today and it is important to mention it.

Do I sleep? do I dream?

Do I wonder and doubt?

Are things what they seem?

Or is visions about?

I might have to ask the Clerk Assistant to pinch me later to see whether this is real.

I pay tribute to all those who voted for me, to my proposer, Senator Ardagh, and my seconder, Senator Daly. Both very eloquently said things about me which I am not sure I deserve. I also acknowledge the contest by the Sinn Féin lady. It is important to have contests and, as I have said to Senator Ó Clochartaigh and others, I do not bear grudges and I will be fair, reasonable and impartial in the Chair and in all my dealings and to the best of my ability.

I did not write a big speech but wrote a few brief notes. It is a great occasion for my family and I particularly welcome and pay tribute to my soulmate and rock, Eileen, my partner of 11 years. I do not know how she has put up with me. Without her, I do not know if I would have had the impetus to run for election, particularly as I must travel from west Cork to the Seanad. I sometimes did not get home for a month. If one goes to the west or to Donegal, it is a long way back to west Cork. Also here today are my sons Luke, Gerard and Donnachada. My daughter, Naomi, is a midwife and, unfortunately, she is not here due to duties in Cork University Hospital. Her priority is delivering babies, so I will excuse her for that purpose today. I have seven sisters and here today is my sister Sheila, who I do not remember emigrating to the United States because I was a baby. She sent home dollars to her family in west Cork, which was typical at the time, when I could not wipe my own backside.My sister Margaret and my brother Thomas, who are great supporters of mine, are here. I am very fortunate to have a family which is very united. When one of us is down or is defeated in an election, they all come together. Unfortunately, due to numbers, some of my family could not get into the House. Watching in the AV Room is my daughter-in-law Claire O'Flynn, or now O'Donovan, and Marion, with two of my grandchildren, Ellie and Tom. Glenda, Eileen's daughter, is there also with Anna, as is my brother-in-law Finbarr O'Donoghue, Aidan McCarthy, a supporter, Kevin Murphy, Kathleen Lane and Tony Lane. Unfortunately, due to the restrictions today, only some - I think, seven or eight - could get into the House.

We are in a totally new Seanad and I congratulate all the new Senators. I congratulate, in particular, Senator Jerry Buttimer, the new Leader of the House, a very prudent appointment by the Taoiseach, the Whips and all the Members. As somebody said, there are 42 new Senators. It is a huge occasion. I was appointed to the Seanad in 1989. I believe this is my fifth term here and I stood for seven Dáil elections, for my sins. I am not sure if it is a bit of madness but sometimes I think that maybe it is dedication to public life. It is 31 years - June 1985 - since I was first elected to the council for the old Skull electoral area. As I was celebrating my victory on 21 June of that year, a very sad event happened off our coastline in south-west Cork, namely, the blowing up of the Air India aeroplane by, I think, Sikh separatists, although it was never proved. Many of the bodies and the debris were brought to Cork. There is a little memorial in my home parish of Ahakista and it is a site I am very proud of. One of my first jobs as a young councillor was to propose that the community would provide a site for the Indians and the Canadians at which to mourn. They come over every year and the anniversary is coming up. That is one of the memories I have.

I acknowledge the presence of a great friend of mine, former Cathaoirleach, Mr. Rory Kiely. I also welcome another great friend who came into the Seanad with me back in 1989, Mr. Francie O'Brien, and a former Leader of the House, the inimitable Mr. Donie Cassidy. I pay tribute to Senator Terry Leydon who democratically and fairly challenged me for the position within my own group. Many Members families and friends in the Visitors Gallery but there is one person in the Visitors Gallery who I would like to mention because her late husband was a great friend of mine. It is a great honour that Máire Ardagh is here with her daughter, Senator Catherine Ardagh. I could write a book, some of which might not be printed, on the exploits I had with Seán over the years. He was a great colleague of mine. He passed away recently and I am sure he is here is spirit with both Máire and Catherine.

I wish to mention friends of mine in the Visitors Gallery, including Deputy Margaret Murphy O'Mahony from west Cork. I am very proud that she is here. I did not do a lot for her in her election campaign but I did a small bit. Deputies Dara Calleary and Darragh O'Brien are present and I am delighted they are here to support me.

Today is an extraordinary day. It is a new Seanad. Many have praised all the new Members and I wish them all well. It is a challenge in that the structure of the Seanad is most unique, with six new groups. I thank all those who supported me, including some of the Independents and, in particular, the Labour Party. I also thank Fine Gael for its support. To those who did not support me, I acknowledge that is their democratic right.

I will list all our former colleagues who soldiered with us for the past five years and who made strong contributions in different ways. I will do so apolitically and in the order I printed off who lost out and is not back here and who decided not to run, so that they are not forgotten. We had a lovely intelligent girl here the last time, Ms Kathryn Reilly from Sinn Féin. There was Mr. Tony Mulcahy, Mr. John Gilroy, a fellow Corkman, Mr. Paul Bradford, who was here for a long time and joined Cork County Council with me in June 1985, and Ms Cáit Keane, a Fine Gael Senator. Some of them fought in the Seanad election but did not make it and some of them fought in the Dáil election. There was Ms Averil Power and Mr. Fearghal Quinn, who a bit like Senator Norris, the father of the House, made a huge contribution here over the years.There was Mr. Michael Mullins of Fine Gael, Ms Fidelma Healy Eames, Ms Marie Moloney of Labour from Kerry, Mr. Tom Sheahan and Mr. Paschal Mooney. Paschal was a tremendous contributor here on many issues and I was sad, even though we were on the same panel, that he lost out. There was also Mr. Michael Comiskey, Mr. James Heffernan, Mr. Jim D'Arcy, Ms Mary Moran, Ms Susan O'Keeffe, Labhrás Ó Murchú and Mr. Jim Walsh. There is one I see missing here from the list, that is, a great character who, unfortunately, is not back here, fondly known as "the Scobe", Mr. Terry Brennan from Carlingford in Louth. It is important to remember them.

At this juncture it would be remiss of me not to acknowledge the great job done by the Acting Cathaoirleach today, Senator David Norris. I have known David for four decades. On a personal basis, I have huge admiration for what he has done. He is a poet, a scholar, a rascal and he can be a thorny contributory here in this House. Having said all that, I admire those who try. There are victors and vanquished. Senator Norris was strong enough and made a unique election by putting his name forward for the Presidency, and that is something that stuck out. Perhaps if the ball broke differently for him he could well have been in the Áras. However, our current President, Michael D. Higgins, is doing a wonderful job. I do not intend to ráiméis on. I think I have covered most of the points I wanted to make. There will be other days for speeches.

However, I wish to acknowledge that the Twenty-fifth Seanad is an unusual Seanad. There are Members here with immense contributions to make. I would hope that there would be some cohesion here because sometimes we can be abrasive. There is the Whips system and the challenging situation of the Government versus the rest, etc. If this Seanad is to make a mark, we must rise above that. The Seanad, in its contribution, is supposed to be more than just Members reading the morning newspapers, listening to "Morning Ireland" or one of the chat shows and trying to come in and make a point on what is common knowledge on the business of the day. There are Members here who can come in of their own right and bring up issues from across the board.

Senator Norris mentioned my attempts over many decades to raise the plight of the fishermen and the way they were badly treated by Europe. Unfortunately, as Cathaoirleach, I will have to bí cúramach, watch myself and not take sides. However, there are many, many issues. I look at the Senators across the Chamber. I have met practically all of them, bar two or three, and note the quality of the people who are in here. It is up to everyone here as individuals to make this Seanad work. If we want to be cynical on this issue, we can, with the maximum vote of the Government at any given time probably being 21 or 22, ensure that no legislation gets through or whatever. Sometimes Governments have brought in important legislation and sometimes, when we do not get all our own way, we must concede that where a Bill is 90% acceptable, but there is 10% one strongly disagrees with, one does not throw out the baby with the bathwater.

There will be many issues for the Seanad to deal with. I hope that it will be a fruitful and unique reform Seanad and that when this Seanad ends, however long it will last and whatever the tenure will be, it will be a Seanad that will be remembered for the contribution that we, as a group or individually, will make. My wish is that it will be an extraordinarily good and constructive Seanad and that divisions, when they take place, will be for a reason.

A few Senators have indicated they want to say a few words. I will start with the Leader of the House, Senator Buttimer, whom I again congratulate and wish well.