Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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We will now pay tributes to a former Senator, the late Martin J. O'Toole. I call Senator Leyden.

Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)
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I would like to welcome the extended family of the late, great Martin Joe O'Toole, who was a former councillor, Senator and Deputy. On behalf of Fianna Fáil, I wish to pay tribute to the life and times of Martin Joe O'Toole - may he rest in peace. He was born on 27 May 1925 and departed this life on 1 October 2013. I would like to extend our deepest sympathy to his family and friends on the loss of a wonderful and charismatic politician, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. I would also like to pay tribute to his late wife Breege, who was a stalwart and a wonderful woman. I visited the O'Toole house in advance of Seanad elections. Breege gave everyone who called a great welcome to their beautiful home overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. I express my sympathy to Martin Joe O'Toole's family - his sons Padraig, Austin, Martin and Séamus, his daughters Marie, Anna, Breda and Gráinne, and his sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. I am delighted that so many of his family are able to be here today. Martin Joe O'Toole would be very proud to think that so many members of his family are present for this tribute to one of the great politicians who ever entered this House. I have spoken to people who were here with him.

I entered Leinster House in 1977, the same year as Martin Joe O'Toole. He was a Member of the 14th Seanad and he was re-elected to the 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th Seanaid. He became a Member of the 26th Dáil in 1989.

I served in the Dáil with him at that time. It was a culmination of years of commitment and work for the Fianna Fáil Party and the people of Mayo that he achieved a great ambition. He was very proud to be a Senator. He was most intelligent and he had a deep understanding of the rules of the House. He was elected to the other House in 1989 and I was also a Deputy at that time. I asked him to speak about the difference between being a Member of the Dáil and a Member of the Seanad. He replied that a Deputy demands whereas a Senator requests. That may not necessarily be the case but he used his position very effectively in the Seanad and in the other House.

He was a member of Mayo County Council, having been elected in 1955 and he served there for 44 years. I am sure the Cathaoirleach served with Martin Joe on Mayo County Council. He was chairman of the council on several occasions. He was a great and loyal friend of former Taoiseach, Charles J. Haughey, being a fellow Mayo man. He had great support from small farmers in County Mayo. He supported job creation, regional development, tourism development. He was a great champion of Knock International Airport and fought for the re-opening of the western rail corridor. When he was elected to the Dáil he demanded services for County Mayo.

It was said about him that he had a twinkle in his eye. Everyone who knew him - I knew him extremely well - was impressed by him, by his knowledge of politics and his knowledge of the affairs of state. He was a people's person and a community worker. He loved his own native area of Louisburgh and that region of County Mayo. He was a great conversationalist with a great knowledge of farming as he was a farmer himself. It is sad that he has departed this life but he lived to a good age and his great achievements are to his name.

His family is very proud of Martin Joe O'Toole. Members of his family including his grandchildren are present today. The tributes being paid in the House are genuine and sincere because we regarded him as a truly great friend, a great neighbour in his County Mayo, a great Fianna Fáil man, a great parliamentarian and a very loyal man who stood by the party and by the country all his life.

Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)
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As Leader of the House I am privileged to pay tribute to the late Martin Joe O'Toole, former Deputy and Senator. He sadly passed away last October. I wish to express my sincere sympathies to his family, to his sons and daughters, his wider family circle and many friends, some of whom are with us today. Martin had a long and distinguished public life serving as a Deputy from 1989 to 1992 and as a Senator from 1977 to 1989. He was also a member and cathaoirleach of Mayo County Council from 1955, serving on the council for over 40 years, making him one of the longest serving public representatives in Ireland and an example of his long-standing dedication to the people of Mayo.

Martin J. O'Toole was always keen to support projects for Mayo and his own community. As a member of the Seanad agricultural panel and as a livestock exporter, Martin Joe was deeply committed to and passionate about agricultural affairs and the agricultural community throughout his public life. He would never pass up an opportunity to speak in support of the cause of Irish farmers and the agricultural industry. He had a deep understanding of the concerns and problems of farmers.

While his commitment to the agri-sector was always his top priority, he was also a great advocate for regional development, various forms of job creation, tourism development and infrastructural development. He was a great champion of Knock Airport as Senator Leyden mentioned and led the intercounty rail committee for several years, campaigning for the re-opening of the western corridor. I am sure that he welcomed the advances in that regard in recent years.

A large crowd attended his funeral in Louisburgh last October, including many current and former officeholders and a wide circle of friends and family who he cherished deeply. As such, I would like to express my sincere sympathies again to his family, who are with us in the Chamber today, to his Fianna Fáil colleagues and, indeed, the Fianna Fáil Party, which he served with honour and distinction in his lifetime of public service. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.

David Norris (Independent)
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This is not a funeral - it is a celebration. That is clear from what everyone has said. We are celebrating a colleague whom we held in high esteem and affection.

It is great to see the extended O'Toole clan overwhelming the Visitors Gallery. Its members are great people. Martin J. used to be over there and I was very glad to serve with him, but on our side we had Joe O'Toole. They were second cousins. I do not know whether the family heard the wonderful broadcast that Joe did about the O'Toole clan on "Sunday Miscellany", when he went through the enormously distinguished ancestry, The Book of the Dun Cow, the Annals of the Four Masters and so on back to the Battle of Clontarf when he encountered a bit of a hiccup. He said that, yes, they had fought gloriously and valiantly but, unfortunately, on the wrong side. My own Gaelic ancestors were much wiser - they fought on both sides so they could claim victory no matter what happened.

I remember Martin J. as a quiet man with a wonderful sense of humour and someone who I would call, without any disrespect, a wise old bird, but one had to go to him to get advice. He would not spread it around all over the place. A bit like our own Joe here, he played his cards close to his chest, but if one approached him, he had an innate political wisdom, courtesy and decency. He was part of the old school of politics. Although some aspects of that life have been criticised, there was a great deal that was good about it. He represented that goodness.

He was a voice for the west and a voice for Mayo. I remember when it was neither popular nor profitable to support Knock Airport. "Dublin 4-ites", as I was at that stage, were heaping scorn on it as hard as we possibly could, but he and the Monsignor, whose name I forget-----

Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)
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Horan.

David Norris (Independent)
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I can remember Martin J., but I cannot remember Monsignor Horan. That says a bit about my priorities. Martin J. was steadfast in pushing for the airport. Unfortunately, we do not have much of that kind of imagination and that capacity to think big in this country now. We need people with vision and who can think very clearly and with a bit of imagination.

I am an argumentative person. There are not many people around this joint whom I have not had a fight with once or twice.

Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)
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The Senator is never argumentative.

David Norris (Independent)
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I never actually succeeded in provoking Martin J. O'Toole. That is a record. I shall miss him, although not of course as keenly as his family. He remains a happy and affectionate memory as far as I am concerned.

Ivana Bacik (Independent)
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On behalf of the Labour group, I join colleagues in expressing my sympathies to the family of the late former Senator and Deputy, Martin Joe O'Toole, and offering our condolences not only to his extended family and friends, but also to his colleagues in Fianna Fáil. He served in public service with great distinction over a long period. Indeed, as Senator Cummins stated, he must have been one of the longest standing public representatives in Ireland, given the fact that his political career began in the mid-1950s and continued well into the 1990s.

That is a lengthy and extensive career by any standard. He served as a councillor, a local representative in Louisburgh in Mayo, as a Senator for 12 years between 1977 and 1989 and also as a Deputy, as a Member of Dáil Éireann. He was a champion of his community in Louisburgh in Mayo and also a champion generally for rural Ireland. Others have spoken of his work in seeking to develop the western rail corridor.

On a personal level, although I did not know him, it is lovely to pay tribute to a Mayo man. My maternal great grandmother was from a large family in Westport, many of whom are still in Westport - the Reillys of Westport. Although it is not Louisburgh, it is nice to pay tribute to somebody who championed and represented Mayo for so long at so many different levels in the Oireachtas and also at local level.

On behalf of the Labour Party, I express my sympathies to his family members and friends and particularly to those who are here today to join us in the Chamber for the paying of tributes to him.

Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)
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I join others in paying tribute to Martin J., an exceptional politician. While I did not have the opportunity to serve with him in the Houses I certainly would not have been here without his advice, support and blatant canvassing on my behalf in 2002 to ensure that I got across the line, for which I will be eternally grateful to him.

Senator Norris touched on what he was also for me and that is a true champion of the west, a man who saw and grew up at a time when the west made a strategic and necessary contribution to all of Ireland. Sadly, throughout most of our political lives we have fought to try to ensure that the west continues to be acknowledged for the strategic contribution that it can make and he was certainly a pioneer in that regard. While he would have celebrated many achievements that he, with others, would have pioneered from an infrastructural perspective - some have mentioned Knock and the intercounty railway committee with Father Micheál McGréil and others - there were many others for which we all continue to fight.

Senator Norris referred to him as being old school in the best possible way. The new politics could do with taking the good parts from the past and realising that people are what politics is and that people are what economies are. Martin J. O'Toole epitomised that as somebody who knew about business, exporting, farming and the genuine needs of people who had less that he or that others may have had. For that reason we should look to Martin J. and his contribution as an example.

To all the family, our sincere condolences. Unfortunately, I was not in a position to attend at the funeral but I know his former colleague, my father, Ray MacSharry, would like me to again sympathise on behalf of all of us. It would also be remiss of me - I am sure he would like me to say it when he is there - not to mention the great friendship between him and a former Cathaoirleach, Rory Kiely, who is in Visitors Gallery for the tributes today. Rory, a former Cathaoirleach, was I understand the longest serving Member of Seanad Éireann. He served throughout all of Martin J.'s term in the Oireachtas. It is great to see him here today, another legend of his own time.

Sincere condolences to all. I hope that all of us who are still here can learn honour in some way through our contribution the great contribution by Martin J. O'Toole at every level of political life.

Catherine Noone (Fine Gael)
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I would like to pay tribute as Mayo woman from Claremorris to Martin J. O'Toole and sympathise and celebrate with his friends and family who are here today. I did not serve with him, I was born around the time he first started in politics but I met and chatted to him in this House and, although we were on different sides of the fence, I recognise the work he did for Mayo and for the west. I pay tribute to him and may he rest in peace.

Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)
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I was unaware that Senator Noone was born in 1955.

Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)
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She is well preserved.

Catherine Noone (Fine Gael)
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It was 1977. I thought he started in the Seanad in 1977.

Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)
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I assure the House that no one would have laughed more than the late Senator O'Toole. I am pleased to have the opportunity to say a few words in tribute to the late Senator Martin J. O'Toole and to welcome his family to the Visitors Gallery. I had the pleasure of serving with him in both the Seanad and the Dáil. Naturally, that makes me feel almost as old as Senator Noone. I would describe him as a made-for-measure Senator. He served three or four terms in Seanad Éireann alongside people such as his friend Rory Kiely. As far as I know they were both on the agricultural panel. I imagine at election time both of them went around the country assuring the Fianna Fáil councillors that the other man had enough votes and that they vote for him instead.

Catherine Noone (Fine Gael)
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Rather like Senator Bradford and the Cathaoirleach.

Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)
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That is how the Seanad works. I recall in 1989 that he became almost an accidental Deputy and he would admit it himself. Suddenly, the late Denis Gallagher decided not to contest the Dáil election and Martin J, after being a lifetime councillor and Senator, had the opportunity of standing for the Dáil. He got great pleasure in achieving election to Dáil Éireann for Mayo West. Most of us in the House remember him as the Senator who presided in the House in a calm, gentle and genteel fashion. Senator Norris summed him up well. He always spoke with a smile on his face and he was certainly a very pleasant colleague to have around.

He was also one of the minority who, upon leaving politics, came back here regularly and that was something very positive. I am disappointed that so few of our colleagues who have left politics, voluntarily or otherwise, come back to participate in the social side of Leinster House. Martin J. was here regularly and always kept us up-to-date with the events from the west.

He made a Trojan contribution to politics. He was, as Senator MacSharry said, of a different political era. One would never associate press releases, Twitter accounts or Facebook with Martin J. O'Toole. His politics was face-to-face, direct and people-orientated. Whether a person was of his party or any other party he treated them with great respect and that is why he is remembered so fondly and kindly in the House.

It was an outstanding achievement to be first elected in 1955 and to still be active in public life until almost the turn of the century. That shows a profound and deep commitment far beyond party politics, a commitment to community and people, and that is his lasting legacy. His was a lifetime of commitment, decency and no cross words or bitterness or silly party-political argument. He was a doyen of the House. He was a tower of strength for his political party and, above all, to his county and family. I assure his family that those of us who were privileged to know him have nothing but very pleasant memories of him.

Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail)
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Like Senator MacSharry, I did not have the privilege or pleasure of being a colleague of the late Martin J. O'Toole but I met him many times. As a young person in Fianna Fáil at the time, he was someone to whom I looked up greatly. There were some great men in Fianna Fáil in those days. They had high standards and they were popular. Martin J. was very popular in Kerry. My cousin, Kit Ahern, served in the House with him. I am unsure whether they served in the Seanad and the Dáil at the same time or whether they overlapped but they were good friends. He used to come to Kerry often. What I always noticed about him, whether it was at a party convention or an Ard-Fheis, was that wherever he moved people seemed to be around him. He always had people around him for he was exceptionally popular.

It is great to see all the family in the House today on this lovely occasion, especially the young boys and girls who will remember this in many years to come. I am also pleased to see the great Rory Kiely, my old pal and neighbour, with them and back in the Seanad after the little holiday he had lately.

I have a little epiphany of Martin J. O'Toole. The one I involvement I had with him personally was rather funny. He had a good friend in Listowel, where I am from, a man called Patsy Walsh. I decided to run for the Seanad in the mid-1990s and Patsy Walsh said there was only one man I had to see and that was Martin J. O'Toole because he knew everything and he would put me right.

An appointment was made for me to meet him, and I did so. I was wondering how to get around the country and how much I would have to canvass and so on. I did not have a clue. Half way through the conversation, he stopped me and asked if I had got my nomination yet. I said that would not be a problem because I was after running for the Dáil in north Kerry and helped to elect my party colleagues; my chest was out. He said "If I were you, I would go away and get that nomination first and come back to me after". About a week later, I went up here to the Fianna Fáil parliamentary rooms where, just like every other upstart, I got well hammered and that was the end of that. He gave me very sensible advice.

I have lovely memories of him and great memories of Fianna Fáil in that period.

Sean Barrett (Independent)
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Louisburgh is a unique place, a Chathaoirligh, as you know, being from the same county. It is named after Louisburgh in Nova Scotia. Not many towns in this part of the world are named after towns in the New World. From there, Martin J. O'Toole served for 44 years on Mayo County Council, 12 years in the Seanad and three years in the Dáil. It is a fantastic record of public service and, like the other Senators, I welcome all his friends and relatives who have come from Louisburgh today. He was described as a good Senate performer and a supporter of Knock Airport. I am sure he would be very pleased that with the abolition of the travel tax, Mr. O'Leary expects hundreds of thousands extra people to go through the airport this year. That was the arrangement he made in exchange for the removal of the travel tax in the budget. That will happen and it will be a big boost for Knock Airport and for County Mayo.

He was Uachtarán Fhianna Fáil for several years, which is one of the hard jobs to acquire in Irish politics. When he passed away, Deputy Micheál Martin described him as a man who combined colour, conviviality, wisdom and wit during his time in Leinster House. The Taoiseach, Deputy Enda Kenny, also made a very nice tribute to him. He said he was a great friend of his late father for many years and that he certainly did the State some service.

I thought it was touching to read in the newspapers that at his memorial service, he had presented, as gifts, a copy of the Constitution, a Dáil report, a Mayo County Council annual report and a Louisburgh GAA jersey. That shows us the kind of life he sought to live. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a ainm dílis.

Diarmuid Wilson (Fianna Fail)
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I would like to join with other colleagues in paying tribute to the late Martin J. O'Toole, and would like to welcome the various generations of his family to the Visitors Gallery. I would also like to welcome the iar-Chathaoirleach of this House, Rory Kiely, who was a very close friend of Martin Joe, and Deputy Dara Calleary.

I did not have the privilege of serving in the Oireachtas with Martin Joe, but I heard a lot about him from my late uncle who did serve with him for many years. I had the privilege of meeting him on a number of occasions while he visited this House. As Senators Norris and Bradford alluded, he visited this House quite regularly since his retirement. I always knew when he was about, because I shared an office on the same corridor as the late, great John Carty, who just passed away a couple of weeks ago. I always knew when Martin Joe was about because the laughter that was coming from John Carty's office would indicate that he was present. He always was in good form, with a twinkle in his eye, and I was privileged to have met him on many occasions as he visited this House. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a ainm dílis.

David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)
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On behalf of the Sinn Féin Party, I want to extend my sympathies to the family of Martin O'Toole. I imagine it is always a bittersweet occasion for family and friends in the Visitors Gallery - I said the same last week when we paid tribute to a former Senator who also died - because the sadness is still there with the loss of Martin, but it is also wonderful to come to Leinster House and to hear people who served with him and knew him well pay tribute to his work and his commitment to politics, to his party and to the people of Mayo as well.

On behalf of Sinn Féin, I offer my sympathy to the people in the Visitors Gallery, his family, and those who hold Martin in high regard but were not able to be here. He had a distinguished career, as Members of his party and the Government parties have said. He was a great advocate for rural Ireland, rural development and the farming community. This is a nice occasion for the family to listen to the tributes paid to Martin, which are a credit to him and his long achievement in political life. I am sure the family is very proud. I wish the family the best of luck for the rest of the day and I extend my sympathy on behalf of my party to his family and friends in Mayo and further afield. They will miss him but they have fond memories of him. I welcome them to the Seanad and I extend my sympathies to them.

Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail)
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I sympathise with the family of former Senator and Deputy, Martin J. O'Toole. I did not know him too well but I met him in Leinster House on a number of occasions. I am one of the youngest Fianna Fáil Oireachtas Members, if not the youngest, but I remember his name when I was a teenager following politics when I should have been following other pursuits. I remember him as a nice and decent man and I would like to join in the expressions of sympathy. He was a national figure at the time. Despite the fact that my great-grandfather was from near Croagh Patrick, I am from the other side of the country but his name resonated around the country, not just in County Mayo. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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I would also like to be associated with the tributes to the late Martin J. O'Toole. He served in the House from 1977 to 1989. He was elected on the agricultural panel. He was known as Martin Joe or Martin J.; nobody knew him as Martin J. O'Toole. He was known by his first name and very few people in the country can be elected through being known by their first name. It is a tribute to anyone who is known only by a first name. He was a member of the 26th Dáil from 1989 to 1992 but he was somewhat reluctant in running for the Dáil. He really liked the Seanad and he was a fabulous councillor. I would say he was somewhat reluctant to run in the constituency of Mayo West, as it was.

He was a farmer and a cattle exporter. He exported cattle mainly to Scotland. The cattle he bought and sold the length and breadth of the country were mainly blue heifers. He was somewhat of an expert on blue heifers and, along with his brother, he exported many of them to Scotland. At county council meetings, he ventured to tell us that we should buy a horse to go racing and to win the Chester Cup in England. The Moores of Moorehall in Mayo had a horse that won the Chester Cup. He envisaged us having a horse that would win the Chester Cup but his judgment of horses was not as good as his judgment of blue heifers. We forgot the name of the horse fairly quickly.

I knew Martin J. for a number of years, having served with him on Mayo County Council for 20 years. We always went to him for advice and he had a very steady hand in the council chamber. He was chairman of the council on a number of occasions. It is an honour to be chairman of the council for one year but Martin J. O'Toole had the honour of being chairman of Mayo County Council for seven years. It is a great tribute to him that he was elected on a number of occasions to the chair of Mayo County Council.

He was quite a character and he had a great sense of humour. He was very entertaining and witty. He was not the first person home from the pub at night time. What a character.

One would travel the length and breadth of the country to meet a character like Martin J. O'Toole. He was respected by politicians of all parties, whether across the floor of the Dáil, in this Chamber or in Mayo County Council.

I was very sad to learn of the death of Martin J. O'Toole, because I thought people like Martin J. O'Toole would live on forever. He had a very distinguished political career; he was a member of Mayo County Council for 44 years and a Member of the Oireachtas for 15 years, serving in both Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann. He left his mark, as Senators have said.

He was a great Mayo man. He was great advocate for Knock Airport, as well as advocating in Mayo for major sewerage and water schemes. He worked very well with various county managers over the years as well as with the Government and Opposition parties of the day to get the best for our county. He will be missed by everybody in the county, but most of all by his family. I would like to be associated with the expressions of sympathy to the members of his family who are in the Gallery, his sons, Padraig, Austin, Martin and Séamus, and his daughters, Marie, Anna, Breda and Gráinne, and their extended family. I believe Martin J. had about eight grandchildren. The family is very welcome to this House today for these expressions of sympathy.

The late Martin J. left his mark on the Oireachtas and on Mayo County Council. He left a mark on everybody he met, and none more so than his great pal and colleague, Rory Kiely, a former Cathaoirleach of this House who served with him on the agricultural panel. He and Deputy Dara Calleary are in the Gallery. I welcome the former Cathaoirleach, Rory Kiely, to the House.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.