Anthony Lawlor (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I also welcome the family of Feargal Quinn. On the wall of the junior house in Newbridge College, through which many thousands of students have passed, there is a small number of photographs on the wall and one of them is of Feargal. The great thing about it is that there is not one photograph of a rugby player. There is just one of Feargal and two or three others. People recognise the esteem in which he is held by ordinary people. I remember when he opened the shop in Naas and even though Dunnes Stores is there now, it is still known as the Superquinn site. Feargal was always down there, helping people with their groceries. He would be the first man they would meet going in and, possibly, the last they would meet as their groceries were being put into their shopping trolley.

I was lucky enough to sit beside Feargal on the jobs committee and two things really stood out for me. First, he had a huge interest in young people and in getting jobs for young people and he was very interested in apprenticeships and in broadening them out. Second, he was full of ideas. He was always writing stuff down and, no matter who came before our committee, he would always put an idea to them relating to something in stores or that he had picked up in his travels over the years. My memories are the memories of everybody out there - of a lot of positivity towards Feargal Quinn. They are memories of how well he was liked, not only by his peers but by the ordinary man and woman in the street. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.