Da´Il E´Ireann

Vol. 651 Tuesday, No. 5 15 April 2008 DIÓSPO´ IREACHTAI´ PARLAIMINTE PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES DA´ IL E´ IREANN TUAIRISC OIFIGIU´ IL—Neamhcheartaithe (OFFICIAL REPORT—Unrevised) Tuesday, 15 April 2008. Business of Daíl……………………………… 913 Death of Former President: Expressions of Sympathy ………………… 913 DA´ IL E´ IREANN ———— De´ Maírt, 15 Aibreań 2008. Tuesday, 15 April 2008. ———— Chuaigh an Leas-Cheann Comhairle i gceannas ar 2.30 p.m. ———— Paidir. Prayer. ———— Business of Daíl. The Taoiseach: The House will have learned with profound regret of the death of Dr. Patrick J. Hillery, former President of Ireland. I move: That Expressions of Sympathy be taken now, that these be confined to party leaders, or Members nominated in their stead, and on the conclusion of Expressions of Sympathy that the House, as a mark of regret, stand adjourned until 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, 17 April 2008. Question put and agreed to. Death of Former President: Expressions of Sympathy. The Taoiseach: I am deeply saddened to learn of the passing or our former President, Patrick Hillery. My first thoughts and, indeed, my prayers today are with Mrs Hillery as she and Paddy were married for over 50 years. I know that Mrs. Hillery’s great strength of character and quiet dignity, which have so long been admired by the Irish people, will serve her well in the sad days ahead. I offer my sympathy, that of the Government and the Fianna Faíl Party to Maeve, her son, Dr. John Hillery, hiswife Carolyn, their children, Sarah Jane, Patrick, Michael and David and the extended Hillery family and friends. Patrick Hillery, as a private citizen and in his public role over many years, gave outstanding and unrivalled service to the Irish State and the Irish people. Paddy Hillery defined loyalty and embodied integrity, he was clever and wise, but most of all he was a people’s person, a Clare man proud of his heritage and at home with his people. Paddy Hillery loved people and people loved him. People admired his achievements and respected his sense of decorum but they loved him for his humanity and his innate decency. On the passing of his former colleague and great friend, Jack Lynch, Paddy Hillery wrote: “Something emanated from him that made you feel good about him and good about yourself if you were near him.” That same sentiment applied to Paddy Hillery. Even in the darkest of days, Paddy had a great ability to make the Irish people feel good about themselves and we were always very proud to be represented by him. 913 Death of Former President: 15 April 2008. Expressions of Sympathy [The Taoiseach.] On Saturday when I learned of his passing, I said that Dr. Hillery’s entire career sums up what is best about politics and public service. He set the highest of standards in the admini- stration of public affairs and history will record the huge contribution made by Patrick Hillery, not just to the progress of Irish society but also to our democracy. Patrick Hillery was an exemplary President. He brought stability to the office when it was needed. In volatile political times he was a cool head who exercised his powers wisely and assiduously protected the inde- pendence of Ireland’s highest office. Addressing Dr. Douglas Hyde in 1938 at the inauguration of our first President, the then Taoiseach, E´ amon de Valera, said: “We are glad to pay you honour as one worthy of the office to which you have been called.” Seventy years on, the people of today again honour a most worthy President who carried out his duties with great dignity, skill and generosity. Today in Daíl E´ ireann we pay final tribute to Paddy Hillery as one of this House’s finest sons. Patrick Hillery won fame but he never lost his sense of modesty. He gained power but he never lost his respect for others. He attained the highest honour this Republic can bestow, however his dignity came not from any office he held but from the spirit of public service with which he fulfilled every position in which he served. He was young when this country was barely born. The ideal of what Ireland could become inspired all his life and work. He was first elected to this House to represent County Clare alongside E´ amon de Valera in 1951. He first served in Government under de Valera’s great comrade, Seań Lemass. The young doctor whom Dev brought into politics would, as Minister, do much to bring Ireland into the modern world. As Minister for Education he brought a reforming republican ethos to his portfolio. He was committed to a radical expansion of partici- pation at every level of education. He set about making the entitlement to a good education not the privilege of the few but the destiny of all. As Minister for Industry and Commerce and subsequently as Minister for Labour, he made strategic and far-sighted economic choices which sowed the seeds for future prosperity. As Minister for Foreign Affairs he brought Ireland on to the world stage and succeeded in internationalising what had been labelled as the Irish question but had been seen as a purely British problem. He was always a voice for peace and sanity. With Jack Lynch he led Ireland into the Euro- pean Economic Community. That historic departure was not just a question of economics, although as economics it proved to be of immeasurable importance. More than material sup- port, Ireland regained her self-confidence as a nation on the European stage. It was important that our first Commissioner was the modest and patriotic country doctor from County Clare. By introducing the equal pay directive and the equal treatment directive, Patrick Hillery not only put the rights of women at the heart of European policy, he put Ireland at the heart of European social progress. Now that his life is over, the State he served for so long and so well will pay its final respects. The passing of Dr. Patrick Hillery, our former colleague in Daíl E´ ireann, our first European Commissioner, our sixth President, is not just the end of a life or even the end of an era, it is the end of a political age. Ar dheis De´ go raibh a anam dı´lis. Deputy Enda Kenny: This week, Ireland says goodbye to President Patrick Hillery. Here in Daíl E´ ireann and in County Clare, we say goodbye to Paddy Hillery, who was sent here as one of our equals. Acres of newsprint have been devoted this week to Dr. Patrick Hillery, a country 914 Death of Former President: 15 April 2008. Expressions of Sympathy doctor from County Clare who served as a Minister, a Commissioner and, for two terms, as the President of our country. In his tribute, the Taoiseach rightly listed Paddy Hillery’s remarkable and extensive contributions to this country. He spoke about what Dr. Hillery achieved in the many jobs he held. In my short tribute, I talk as Fine Gael leader about Paddy Hillery’s remarkable contribution to this country. I will speak about something more basic — even essential — which is the matter of who Paddy Hillery was and what that signifies. He was a Clare man and a proud member of Fianna Faíl. He was a man of the highest integrity, the utmost probity and signal patriotism. He did not talk much about his patriotism — instead, he lived it. That patriotism was so real, ordinary and natural that one could touch it. It did not require any interpretation or explanation. It was there in every choice, word and action of a long and distinguished public life that was, at the same time, ordinary and unassuming. Paddy Hillery’s plain and flaming patriotism made him an exemplary man, politician and servant of Ireland and the Irish people. The Roman philosopher Seneca, who died on the same date as Paddy Hillery, albeit a couple of millennia earlier, wrote “Be silent as to services you have rendered, but speak of favours you have received”. Paddy Hillery was silent — stony silent — about the enormous service he did this State, but those of us who knew him could not keep him quiet about the favours he received in the form of the joy, satisfaction and peace of mind he received in return. An old neighbour of Paddy Hillery summed it up on television this week when, in tears, she spoke of the Commissioner and President as “Dr. Paddy”, who delivered some of her siblings. She spoke about the time Paddy Hillery came down the wooden stairs of the farmhouse in which she grew up to deliver the best news of all — the arrival of a new life. As she put it: “who better to deliver it and who better to announce it”. It should be noted that, along with his late father Michael, who was a commandant in the Free State Army, and his sister Eleanor, Paddy Hillery pioneered home births throughout west Clare. When news of Paddy Hillery’s death broke at the weekend, the former President, Mary Robinson, spoke on the radio of how kind and warm he was to her and her husband Nick when she won the Presidential election in 1990. She said she was invited to A´ ras an Uachtaraín to get a feel for the house. She listened to him telling his stories. She said something that many of us here could echo when she said that she and Nick would often make a beeline for Paddy at any event they attended.

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