Before moving to the Order of Business, the Taoiseach has asked that we acknowledge the passing last week of the late Charlie Bird.
Death of Charlie Bird: Expressions of Sympathy
I wish to take this brief opportunity to allow us to recall and recognise the life of Charlie Bird. I think he was somebody who pretty much everyone in this House knew from his professional life. He was an extraordinary and animated journalist who really brought stories to life. In his later years, he showed enormous courage and bravery in the campaigns he led. He will be sorely missed by all of us in this House and by his colleagues in the media and RTÉ. I wanted us to take the opportunity to recognise that.
I too want to join in recognising the legend that was Charlie Bird. For four decades, his voice was to be heard across the most important news stories of our times. His incredible, heartbreaking work on the Stardust tragedy is a stand-out from that very long career. He will always be remembered for his role, of course, in covering the emerging Irish peace process, including as the RTÉ contact person for the IRA in those years. I pay particular tribute to Charlie for the courage and humanity he demonstrated when diagnosed with motor neurone disease. His selfless campaign, charity work, bravery and resilience were truly inspirational for all of us; indeed, I would go so far as to say they lifted the spirits of the country. He will be remembered not just by all of us but by everybody for his incredible personality, impactful reporting, bravery in the face of very serious illness, decency and good humour. In the end, there was only one Charlie Bird.
I express my deepest condolences and those of Sinn Féin to Charlie's wife Claire, his daughters, Orla and Neasa, his wide circle of family and friends and to all his former journalistic colleagues. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.
I am glad, on behalf of the Green Party, to share our fond memories and send regards to all Charlie's family. I was thinking that a day like today is when Charlie Bird would be at his best. He was the most dogged, intrepid reporter. If he did not have the story first, he would want to ask the right question next. He was an incredible, determined and brilliant journalist and he will be remembered fondly by the Irish people for the work he did, but also for his honesty. I remember watching a programme following him in Washington as a foreign correspondent and all the challenges and travails that applied then. I also watched, more than anything else, the way he managed his illness in recent years. I absolutely join my colleagues in praying for his soul. May he rest in peace now.
I join others in paying tribute to the late Charlie Bird on behalf of the Labour Party. He was a journalist of immense tenacity, courage and conviction. We all recall his incredible work on the Stardust tragedy, his inspirational courage in facing down motor neuron disease and his activism. He was at one point a member of the Labour Party and we remember him fondly within the party. He was hugely active in the marriage equality campaign more recently and as an advocate working on motor neuron disease, teaching all of us so much more about that awful condition, through climbing Croagh Patrick and with his spirit even in his final years. We all recall that so fondly.
I send my deepest condolences to his partner, Claire, his daughters, Orla and Neasa, his family and of course, his dog, Tiger, who played a leading role in the memorial service that Deputy Ó Ríordáin and I were proud to attend last week in the Mansion House. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.
I join other Deputies on behalf of the Social Democrats in remembering Charlie Bird. He was a true journalist. Even in what was perhaps the most difficult time for him, he still raised awareness and informed the public on the important issue of MND. Our thoughts are with his family, friends and former colleagues.
I join everyone else in paying tribute to Charlie Bird and express, on behalf of People Before Profit, our condolences and sympathies to his wife and all his family.
As has already been mentioned, one group of people who will always be grateful to Charlie Bird is the Stardust families, for his relentless commitment to their campaign for justice. I am sure, as they await the outcome of the current inquest, they will be deeply grateful for the support Charlie Bird gave them. It is also perhaps worth mentioning that he was a socialist, a left winger when he was younger and I like to think the tenacity he had as a journalist owed something to his left-wing origins. He also inspired us incredibly with his bravery in the face of motor neuron disease and that can only have been an incredibly difficult time for him and all his family. Given the iconic figure he was as a journalist and the universal respect he had as a journalist, of the public and of his fellow colleagues, it is perhaps a moment to consider just how important public service broadcasting is, at a time when it is somewhat in peril. We remember how he personified the best of what is public service broadcasting.
I pass on my deepest sympathies on our behalf to his family. He will be greatly missed by us all.
On behalf of the Regional Group, I too want to extend our sympathies to Charlie's family. The thing that stands out most for us is the fact that he was so courageous when he was struck down with ill health and the spirit with which he took that on. He was an example to us all to take on whatever life gives us. We wish his family well into the future. He will be missed. May he rest in peace.
On behalf of the Fianna Fáil Party, I would also like to join in the words of sympathy to the family of Charlie Bird, to his wife, Claire, to his daughters. He was an enormous presence in all of our lives, particularly growing up, as he was a permanent figure on RTÉ. He was a journalist who could turn up anywhere around the world, both domestically and internationally. He was a man we associated with the pursuit of justice and integrity. He had a long and distinguished career in journalism but, more than that, we remember him for, as others have referenced, his association with the Stardust tragedy. So many other causes could be identified with him. They were the issues that mattered to real people on the ground in the sense of the need for justice. Reference has been made to his final years, his illness, motor neurone disease, and his choice to go public with that, to be a voice for those who did not have a voice and to explain it more clearly to the public, to raise funds for it, to make it an accessible and understandable challenge that he was facing. The work he did there was quite incredible in that he allowed the humanity of his experience to be shared with the world. He often spoke of being a man who was very quick to tears. He made it acceptable in our world and showed there is an honour and integrity in showing your humanity and showing your heart and indeed, in showing your tears. There is a place for that in the world too. He was generous with his time, particularly in his final days. We will remember him with gratitude and affection.
On behalf of the Rural Independent Group, I too would like to express our sympathies to his wife, his daughters, his family and his journalistic colleagues and that family also. He did the State some service, to quote a former Taoiseach. Indeed, his work as a journalist at the time of the peace process was pivotal. It was important that there was someone like him who could be at the receiving end of the very serious and delicate situation that was developing there. There was also his obair stairiúl, historical work, covering the Stardust fire. He was a tremendous advocate for the families of the Stardust victims. He is gone to his happy reward now, at least knowing that there is an inquest going on and we hope that they will finally get justice.
His journalistic colleagues could learn a great deal from him today because if Charlie Bird had been here, I am sure the news that started to emanate this morning at about ten o'clock, he would have had it last night by midnight or maybe very early this morning because he had a great tenacity and a way of finding out the news. We miss him because that news would have been definitely out this morning and everybody would have known about it sooner. On behalf of our group, I wish him eternal peace. He is with us in our thoughts and prayers. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a ainm.
You were not too slow picking up the news yourself, Deputy McGrath.
On behalf of the Independent Group, I would like to express our condolences to Charlie Bird's family. We recognise the work he did over the years. As has been mentioned by other Members regarding the Stardust families and the ceasefires in the North, he was very important and well recognised. As Deputy Boyd Barrett said in recognition of public service broadcasting, that is vitally important and should be remembered at the current time as well. On behalf of the Independent Group, I want to express sympathy to his family and to his memory.
There is no doubt that this is a man who for more than 40 years touched the lives of all of us and informed us about so many important events, including the earth-shattering nature of the Stardust fire, the end of apartheid in South Africa, ongoing news of our own peace processes, the Twin Towers attacks - will we ever forget them? - and the 2004 Indonesian tsunami.
.As Members, including the Minister, Deputy Foley, have said, he touched the lives of people suffering with that dreadful condition, motor neuron disease, to give them courage and hope and, in his practical endeavours by raising more than €3 million for research into that disease, for the Irish Motor Neuron Disease Association and for Pieta House, he has given really practical assistance in a way that will have lasting effect. I join with Members in extending deepest sympathies to Claire and his daughters Orla and Nessa. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
Members rose.
May Charlie rest in peace.