Sharon Keogan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

There have been so many lovely tributes here this afternoon to our friend and colleague, John Bruton. I would have known John since 1997. I first met him in the Ashbourne House Hotel where, I think, there was a Fine Gael cumann meeting on and I could hear this laughter coming from one end of the bar. Everybody knows what John sounded like when he laughed. He had a ferociously infectious laugh. Somebody then introduced him to me that night. I have known him since that time.

When I ran for politics in the general election of 2016, I was outside the church in Dunboyne after mass trying to gather up a few votes in his area, which I was not going to get anyway. I remember him coming over to me and wishing me well. I thought that was really lovely, and something nice for a colleague to do in politics.He was a devout Catholic and a devout believer in the pro-life issue. I met him, in the cream overcoat he always wore, in the corridor in Leinster House about a year ago. He greeted me and said, "I see you are causing trouble." I said, "And plenty of it", to which he replied, "Well, keep up the good fight."

I express my deepest sympathy to Finola and all his family, as well as to the Fine Gael family. When one belongs to that family within a political party, it can be quite sad to lose such a large figure. It is like losing a father figure for the organisation and, indeed, for all the people of Dunboyne. So many people in my community have such wonderful things to say about John Bruton, which is really lovely to hear. It would be great if we could all have that legacy in life when we leave here. It is what we should aspire to. My deepest sympathies go to my colleagues and to his family.