Regina Doherty (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of my colleagues in the Fine Gael group, I welcome the family of Aileen and Terry Brennan to the Seanad. It is fair to say that Terry was one of those Fine Gael people who ate, slept and drank politics. It was his whole life and he really loved it. Other colleagues have spoken about his long dedicated and illustrious career at local government level, at the European Council of Representatives, which I know he loved, and here in the Seanad and their plaudits are so well deserved. Often on occasions like this we talk about what people did or said but I want to touch on how Terry made me feel. There is a great saying by Ms Maya Angelou that I love: "people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." I arrived here in 2011 with Terry Brennan. Even though there was not a huge difference in our ages, he was a seasoned politician and I was practically brand new. I was afraid of my own shadow, afraid to say the wrong thing, keen as mustard to get on but constantly second-guessing myself. Terry saw the nervousness and anxiousness and just swooped in and made sure he was there. He was always there. He made me feel good about myself when I did the right thing and picked me up by the boots when I made mistakes. He praised me and encouraged me to go on further. The nicest text that I ever got from him was on the day I was appointed to Cabinet. He was probably more pleased for me than I was for myself. That was the measure of the man. When he got you, he had your back and he always looked after you. He was consistent, not just in the five years that he was here but afterwards too. He would text me if he heard me on the radio, or on LMFM. He was a really good mentor and a really wise advisor and for that I will always be grateful. I know he was our guests' dad, grandad and husband but to us, he was our friend, colleague and mentor.

Most of all, Terry was a staunch Fine Gaeler. He was a bit like my father in that regard. It did not matter what Fine Gael did, he would always make excuses for the party. There were days when he picked us up by the boots and I know he his watching us now. On good days, he will praise us and on bad days he will still pick us up by the boots and root for us. I thank our guests for coming and for sharing Terry Brennan with us.