In rural Ireland, where I come from, he was highly respected for his credibility on agriculture. It is a family thing, obviously, as he came from a strong farming tradition. Fianna Fáil farmers were slow enough to criticise him because it was a time when they particularly benefited and that stood to him.

What I most admired in him was the way he reached out to unionism at a time when very few Irish politicians were prepared, or had the courage, to do so. It is something that we are still pretty slow to do and, of course, there are many reasons for that but it was particularly difficult at the time, when the likes of Ian Paisley was ruling the roost in the North. That was a different type of unionism to what we have today but John Bruton did reach out. He had no patience for, and gave very short shrift to, the wrap-the-green-flag-around-me brigade. Every party in this country is bedevilled by that to a certain extent but he cut through it. Of course, he was nicknamed Unionist John and all that kind of stuff but he was proved right. He was ahead of his time and it was important that people like him led, prepared the way, and set the groundwork for the peace process and, ultimately, for the Good Friday Agreement.

Finally, standards in public office are talked about quite a lot but John Bruton and his generation did not have to worry about answering in relation to standards in public office because they had the highest standards. He belongs to a generation of great politicians including Liam Cosgrave, Garret FitzGerald, Jack Lynch, Des O'Malley, and right up to my own leader, Micheál Martin. These are people who put the country first. They looked after their party interests but they looked after the country first and that is what it is all about. I worry at this point in time, with the departure of John Bruton, whether politics will be lucky enough to attract his equal again in the future. When I see the toxic cesspool that politics has become, with social media and the rise of populism on the left and the right - I cannot see any difference between them - I worry but hopefully his example will strike a chord and people will reflect on what he did and continue in his vein.

To his charming wife Finola, his family, his brother Richard and to Fine Gael, I express my deepest sympathy. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.