Mary O'Rourke (Fianna Fail)
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I rise to express my sympathy to the wife and daughters and immediate family of the late Liam Burke, who was both a Deputy on seven occasions and who served in this House twice, once by appointment and once by election. I did not know him well but I knew him around the Houses and always found him to be very urbane, charming and nice with all the qualities one would like to see in a public representative. In particular, he was held in great affection in Cork. I am aware that the Cathaoirleach knew him although I am not sure whether he was here during Liam Burke's time in the Seanad.

Liam Burke had a great quality of being able to bounce back. He lost his seat on two separate occasions but got back in on subsequent occasions. Cork holds him in great honour and affection for all his work over the years. We always talk about public service, how important it is and how wonderful it is to have it when we stand up here. Liam Burke had public service in bucketfuls. It was what he dealt with all the time, both for and with his constituents. We cannot all be Cork people but if we could, we would want to be like the late Liam Burke. He was a gentleman. I recall a comment in a newspaper that he was what was described as "a gent". It is an old-fashioned term but it suited the man, his occupation and how he did his business. He was very urbane and always well turned out and groomed — things one would like to see in a public representative.

I saw his wife Noreen on television this morning when she was in the Distinguished Visitors Gallery in the Dáil and his two sisters and I believe they were very impressed with the kind things people were saying. Of course, one can say kind things and not mean them but in Liam Burke's case he was everything that everybody said he was. Cork will long remember him.

Deputy Kenny had a very funny joke about a young chap who was leaving Cork to work in Dublin. It was a long tale but the gist of it was that they could not all be Cork people but that the person in question had to keep his mouth shut about that. He was better than any of them. There is no doubt that the sense of proprietorship that Cork people feel about their own is immense. On behalf of my party, I offer my sympathy to Senator Brian Hayes and Fine Gael and to all of the parties here but most of all to Liam's wife Noreen and their two daughters. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.

Brian Hayes (Fine Gael)
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I echo the words of sympathy for the Burke family so eloquently expressed by the Leader. Like many of my colleagues in this group, I was in Béal na mBláth in August attending the annual General Collins commemoration when we heard of the untimely passing of Liam Burke. While many of us knew for some months that he was unwell, the news came as a great shock to the party supporters assembled on that Sunday.

Liam Burke was a gentleman. He was involved in politics for over 50 years, serving on Cork City Council and in both Houses of the Oireachtas, as a distinguished public servant. It is a great pity that after his retirement from the other House in 2002, and local politics in 2004, he did not have a longer time to enjoy being with his family and friends in his beloved Cork.

I remember him with great fondness. When I lost my seat in 2002 the first letter of support I received came from Liam Burke and I recognised the sincerity of that gesture. He did not have great ambition for himself in politics but had it for our party. He was one of those elder figures within a party who was utterly loyal and committed, with a devout sense of belonging to a political grouping and defending it against all comers, a characteristic that is probably less prominent in Irish politics today than 20 or 30 years ago.

He also defended a marginal seat in the difficult working class constituency of Cork North Central for many years. Famously, he won by a handful of votes in 1992 when his was the only additional seat Fine Gael won in the whole country — a significant testament to his work rate in that constituency.

In 1979, his victory along with that of another then member of our party effectively brought about the end of Jack Lynch as leader of Fianna Fáil and Taoiseach. Liam Burke was there in the momentous times caused by the by-elections in 1979. The highlight of his political career came in 1984 when he was Lord Mayor of Cork. He loved Cork city and the corporation and his time as Lord Mayor.

On behalf of our group I offer our sincere sympathy to his wife Noreen, his daughters, Catherine and Emma, and the extended Burke family. He will be greatly missed in Fine Gael, in Cork, and among people who follow dog racing and coursing and so on. I do not understand these activities but am told they are great sport.

I was in County Clare on my holidays and met a large group of people in Liscannor who spoke fondly of Liam Burke. They described him as "a great dog man"— someone who enjoyed the dogs and had great success at the sport. We send our deepest sympathy to his family and remember him fondly as a figure who, in his way and time, gave great service to this country.

Joe O'Toole (Independent)
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Those of us in the Independent group wish to be associated with the words of sympathy expressed on the death of Liam Burke.

We are somewhat at a loss in that none of us served with him in this House. We met him over the years coming and going in the House and found him to be a warm and generous man. He was a very open man, easy to talk to, always ready to offer a view and to chat. As Senator Brian Hayes said he represented a particular political generation. Not having worked with him I cannot add to what has been said but offer his wife and family our sincere condolences. We record our appreciation and acknowledgement of his long years — Senator Brian Hayes says half a century — of diligent public service and representation on behalf of his city and country. Ar dheis Dé go raibh sé. We also offer our condolences to his party colleagues.

Brendan Ryan (Labour)
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Liam Burke was my local Deputy for the best part of 20 years. I clashed with him once or twice in my earlier, perhaps excessively self-righteous, career in politics.

Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)
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No change there.

Brendan Ryan (Labour)
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We became friends as the years went on, since it was impossible, once one knew Liam Burke, not to like him. He was immensely popular with members of my own party on Cork City Council, and also with all other members. Known affectionately as "Burkie", in his later years he had moved beyond party conflict, although he was very able in it, and was regarded almost as an institution in Cork politics, both locally and in its national expression. It is quite tragic that someone who always had such a zest for life and a sparkling sense of humour sharp enough to provoke the likes of me in my earlier days should pass on. It took me a while to realise that he was getting much more fun out of it than I and enjoying the provocations.

Liam Burke was a good, hard worker and a remarkable political survivor. For the one or two occasions on which he lost, there were others when he survived in ways that can only be described as miraculous. His capacity to extract 12th or 13th transfers across the entire political spectrum is perhaps the strongest evidence of his genuine likeability. As a mere blow-in to Cork who spent 30 years there, I feel that he will be missed, since people had a sense of him as one of those who defined the city and its local political culture.

On my own behalf and that of my party, I sympathise with Liam's family and Fine Gael. He is genuinely someone whose absence will be noticed, and he will be missed in Cork.

John Dardis (Progressive Democrats)
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On behalf of the Progressive Democrats, I join in the tributes to the late Liam Burke. I understand that, apart from the attributes rightly ascribed to him this afternoon, he was called "the silver fox". I assume that it had more to do with his appearance than his political activity, although I am sure that there are various judgments on the matter. In my experience, he was unfailingly courteous. He has been described as a gentleman, and I never heard anyone speak ill of him, another unusual circumstance in politics. He was extremely loyal to his native Cork, and he looked after the interests of its people very effectively over the period of which we have spoken. He survived in an extremely difficult constituency, and it was remarkable that he served only one short term here in the Seanad, being in the Dáil for a long time.

He was very much involved in sport, breeding greyhounds as well as racing them. Perhaps that is another Cork feature, since the sport in question may be more popular in the south than elsewhere. He served his constituency and country extremely well, and I sympathise with his wife, daughters, extended family, colleagues in Fine Gael and constituents in Cork. May he rest in peace.

Peter Callanan (Fianna Fail)
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It is with a measure of sadness that I join in the many tributes paid to the memory of the late Liam Burke and extend my sympathy to his wife, daughters and family. His virtues have been well extolled today but the word "humility" has not been used. Like all Cork people, Liam was a humble person. He was also joyous and personable, a people person. While he served the Fine Gael Party well, he served the people of Cork better, irrespective of their politics. Like most Corkonians, he worked for the benefit of his people, with no regard to the various changes in constituency boundaries. My sympathy goes to Mrs. Burke, Liam's daughters and his wider family. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.

Sheila Terry (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Cathaoirleach for allowing me to pay tribute to the late Liam Burke, a neighbour of mine in Cork. As a fellow Corkonian, I extend my sympathy to Noreen and her children and to Liam's brothers and sisters. Liam had a special personality and an aura which people loved. His common touch distinguished him and enabled him to connect and communicate with people. His love of sports is well known, including the role he played in developing dog racing in Cork.

I have another connection with Liam's family in that his wife Noreen, formerly Miss Casey, was one of my teachers in primary school. It was with great sadness that I learned of Liam's death following a prolonged illness. He will be well remembered in Cork for the great service he gave its people for so many decades.

John Minihan (Progressive Democrats)
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I thank the Cathaoirleach for the opportunity to speak. I join with previous speakers in acknowledging the great contribution to public life in Cork of the late Liam Burke. As Senator Ryan said, those of us from Cork knew him as "Burkie". I got to know him in 1999 when I was elected to Cork City Council. Liam was very much the father figure on the council and often offered a word of advice across the floor. I was glad when he spoke before me on a particular issue because it was always possible to take a lead from him. He was a tipster when it came to dog racing and also a political tipster. At times he confused those roles so that a person might be uncertain as to what he or she was backing. He enjoyed such mischievousness.

My family is friendly with the Burkes, and Liam's wife Noreen in particular, who also taught me in primary school at Eglantine. I should discuss this with Senator Terry because it is possible we attended school together.

Brian Hayes (Fine Gael)
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There may be a school reunion.

John Minihan (Progressive Democrats)
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I extend my condolences to Liam's family and endorse the kind sentiments expressed about him. In this case they are all true. He was parochial in his thinking, promoted Cork and crossed party divides. During those long nights discussing council budgets and so on, Liam always worked behind the scenes and he carried that dedication through his political career. As Senator Brian Hayes said, his loyalty to his party was the mark of his political career. Furthermore, his loyalty to his people extended not only to those he represented but to Cork city in its entirety. He took pride in this, in both his business and political lives. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.

Rory Kiely (Fianna Fail)
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I join in the tributes to the late Liam Burke. I got to know him in 1977 when we were both elected to the Seanad. We often met on the journey to Dublin and developed a friendship which proved long lasting. We had many a joke and in a hostelry in Cork on the evening of his funeral a joke on the subject of potatoes, or spuds as they were called, was recalled.

Liam and I had other interests in common including horseracing and greyhound racing, although I did not get involved in the greyhound pup syndicate which Liam Burke organised. Whether in Government or Opposition he was a flamboyant and colourful character who made people comfortable, especially with that disarming smile. His long service in the Houses of the Oireachtas reflected his popularity and his work for the people of Cork.

I extend my sincere sympathy to his wife Noreen and daughters, Catherine and Emma, on their sad loss.