Seán Kyne (Fine Gael)

I thank Senator McDowell and the Independent Group for bringing forward these tributes. As Leader, I was happy to facilitate holding these tributes to the late Billy Lawless. I welcome Anne, Amy, Helen and Mary to the Visitors Gallery. I also welcome the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, Councillor Anna Grainger, Ms Tracy Young, who worked with Billy, and all his family and friends.

I have a short note from the former Leader of the Seanad, now Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, who is abroad. He has asked me to express his admiration for Billy's services and work on behalf of the diaspora, but also his genial and collegial qualities as a person. As a Government Leader, I always found him to be a great colleague to work with on issues.

I have also reached out to a number of former mayors of Galway city and good friends of Billy's. They include Brian Walsh, who is a close family friend, going back to the time of his father Paschal. He was also a councillor. He remembers the invite to the White House. Of course, he went over to the tributes at the funeral in Chicago. Former mayor and Councillor Pádraig Conneely also remembers Billy's involvement, together with the Mayor of Chicago, Richard Daley, in ensuring that Mr. Conneely, as mayor of Galway, received an audience with President Obama in the Oval Office. Councillor Frank Fahy was a neighbour from Menlo. He says that Billy was a great member of the community in Menlo. He was active and positive, and will be dearly missed. Former mayor, Councillor Eddie Hoare, remembers the great welcome he received from Billy and all his family when he was visiting Chicago as mayor in 2023. Those are the words of some of the former mayors of Galway.

As we know, Billy was a freeman of Galway. He had gone to Chicago before I got involved in politics so I would not know him as closely as some of the aforementioned people in Galway. From what I knew of him and the many times I would have met him, and from what I had known him before that from his involvement in the Twelve Pins hotel and all that, he was dynamic, gregarious and a larger-than-life figure. He had a varied career. He started as a top-class dairy farmer on the outskirts of Galway city and went on to become an astute businessman. He moved to Chicago, and not as a young man. I am sure there were people who said at the time he was mad - perhaps Anne was among them, I do not know - to up sticks and move to Chicago. It was a tribute to the fact that he was willing to take that risk and chance. He made a mark for himself.

Many people reached out to Enda Kenny at the time. I certainly made a phone call recommending that Billy Lawless take a seat in the Seanad. I cannot remember who I engaged with before that but I did reach out to Enda Kenny at that time. Enda said privately that one of the most difficult decisions he had to make as Taoiseach is picking 11 people as Seanad nominees because there is plenty of demand and all of that. Billy was privileged to get that call and, as I said, I am sure there were plenty of other people who advocated on his behalf.

Billy is best remembered for his work in relation to the undocumented. I am not sure, or maybe I am sure, what he would think of the present situation. Only this week, I was dealing with a local lady who contacted me on behalf of an undocumented Irish citizen, who is married to an American and they have a baby, who was picked up by ICE, moved around different parts of the United States and eventually deported. I am not sure what I was going to be able to do about that except reach out to the consulate. By the time I was able to get involved, he had been deported. Billy's work for the undocumented is still necessary and relevant today.

I want to remember Billy as a gentleman. We remember his involvement with Fine Gael before he moved to Chicago. As I said, I did not know him particularly at that time but he would have been highly regarded. Whatever he took on, he did with great energy and gusto and gave it his all. I remember and pay tribute to him here today in my privileged position as Leader of the Seanad and as a Galway man.