Rose Conway Walsh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Senator Hackett to the Seanad. I hope she has a fruitful and enjoyable time here, as did her predecessor, Grace O'Sullivan. We look forward to working with her.

I, too, extend my condolences to Kathleen, Crona, Suzy, the wider Byrne family and the very many friends of Gay Byrne. Many tributes have been paid to Gay over the past 24 hours. His easy manner and unique tone of voice will long be remembered throughout the households of this State. For me, coming from County Mayo, one of the moments of note captured over the past 24 hours was his famous interview that led to Mr. Tom Gilmartin speaking out. Mr. Gilmartin was the man who brought down a Taoiseach and exposed the greed and corruption in this country. Gay Byrne and his easy style of interviewing brought that to the fore.