*Donal Carey.
BORN in Ennis but “a Magpie to the end,” former Junior Minister and Clare TD, Donal Carey’s ability to look out for those in need, his love for family and strength has been remembered.
Donal was laid to rest on Saturday morning with a massive guard of honour from Clarecastle GAA Club and Fine Gael accompanying his remains on his final journey from Clarecastle Church to Clarehill Cemetary. The black and white Clarecastle flag was draped on the coffin for this final leg.
He died on Tuesday last at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) surrounded by his loved ones, one month on from celebrating his eighty eighth birthday.
A Clare TD from 1982 to 2002, he became the first Fine Gael candidate to top the poll in the constituency of Clare in a General Election when recording his greatest result in June 1989 amassing 19.7 percent of the first preference vote.
Carey moved from the Seanad to the Dáil following his General Election success of February 1982, having unsuccessfully ran in 1977 and 1981, he prevailed at the expense of then TD Madeline Taylor-Quinn (FG).
Making his first speech in the Dáil in April 1982, Donal expressed concern about the conversation of the salmon species.
First-time TDs can often hope of getting at least a year to settle into the job but Donal contested two General Elections in 1982, succeeding in both. Speaking following the November election of that year, when Fine Gael doubled their advantage when Taylor-Quinn regained her seat and Carey took the final seat at the expense of first-time candidate Sile de Valera, he commented, “It is a major achievement to win two seats in Clare but to beat a de Valera in the process makes it a truly historic occasion”.
In 1995, he was appointed Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach with responsibility for western development and rural renewal and Minister of State at the Department of Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht with responsibility for the Gaeltacht, holding the posts until the change of government in 1997.
Joe Carey followed in his father’s footsteps by entering politics first at Clare County Council in 1997, twenty three years after Donal’s first election to the local authority. Joe served as a four-term TD from 2007 to 2020, health grounds forcing his premature retirement from politics.
Looking down over the weekend, Donal would have been immensely proud of the wonderful reflection prepared and delivered superbly by his grand-daughter Eibhlin.
On Saturday, Joe had the difficult job of reflecting on the life and times of one of Clare’s most distinguished politicians, “When preparing for this I found myself struggling to capture a long life lived so well”. He began by expressing “deep gratitude” to everyone who showed the Carey family “kindness and support” over recent days. He thanked Donal’s best man John Callinan “from the bottom of my heart” and their neighbours for “their dedication, their compassion and constant presence which brought comfort and dignity to Donal in his final years”.
Joseph Carey and Eleanor Kearney who was originally from Tullamore welcomed their eldest child, Donal to the world on Octber 15th 1937. “He grew up in a time very different to today, his childhood was shaped by adventure. He spent countless hours playing hurling, swimming, fishing, playing darts and snookers,” Joe recalled. Donal attended Clarecastle NS, St Flannan’s College before graduating from UCG and UCD.
Shannon was where he began his working life as a cost accountant with Lana Knit. “So many people from Lana Knit were at the funeral I never knew half the world worked there,” quipped Joe.
It was when he attended a local wedding that Donal first met his future wife Evelyn, she had been working at Paddy Power’s bookmakers at the time. “She was the love of his life, they were a true team, he was a decent canvasser but Evelyn was an exceptional canvasser, she turned a number ten vote into a number one vote many times, they married and soon after had a family with Leonora, I and Donal coming along,” Joe outlined. He remembered his late baby sister Jane who died in the 1980s at birth and their time living together in Thomond Villas with Donal’s parents, “it was great and it worked. Our parents gave us a truly wonderful childhood”.
Life in the Carey household changed forever when Evelyn died suddenly on January 31st 1993. “It was an incredibly difficult time but with remarkable strength and resilience Donal carried us through, he was exceptional, he never wavered with his love and his duty, we’ll always be grateful for the way he held us together,” Joe reflected.
With Clarecastle GAA, Donal served in multiple roles on the Executive including as County Board Delegate. He was involved in coaching teams but to the fore in making several return journeys to venues across the county to ensure the Magpies had sufficient players. “He’d load up the car and drive to Ruan or Tulla or go back Clarecastle and go again, he went to Ruan three times one night and they nearly missed the throw-in”. A love of the GAA was instilled in the Carey family thanks to Donal, a passion which remains very strong among his grand-children.
Delving into politics, Joe noted, “he devoted most of his life to public service in a career which spanned nearly three decades”. He spoke with pride at his father retaining his Dáil seat on six occasions, “he was the first Fine Gael man to top the poll in dev’s county which was historic. He would have had one regret and that was Evelyn wasn’t with him in 1995 when he was appointed a Junior Minister by his political hero, John Bruton. He was the first Clare TD to open a constituency office which is something he took great pride in. This office became the heart of his work, a place where he made representations and made sure people were looked after, even his political rivals would acknowledge he excelled in this area”.
Time-keeping was the one area Donal struggled on, Joe flagged, “There was British Mean Time and then there was Carey time”. He reminisced on a late dash to make a family wedding in Newcastle when travelling from Cork Airport and they almost missed the flight but Donal still managed to pick up an item from the duty-free store.
Family was very important and brought great pride to Donal including the achievements of Leonora in healthcare, Donal Jnr in business and Joe in the political sphere. He took great joy in spoiling his grand-children with treats and ice-cream, “beyond the treats he instilled a sense of values, a spirit of caring, curiosity, love of sport, not forgetting a love for the quiz programme, The Chase, his influence will continue to shape who they are and who he will become in the future”.
Staying at home in Thomond Villas in his final years “meant so much” to Donal but was “only possible because of family and friends, we will never ever be able to say thanks to Leonora for the love and devotion she gave to our father in his last few years which allowed him to stay in Thomond Villas”.
Those who excelled in sport earned Donal’s admiration and he often remarked “they are the greatest”. Joe said, “He had an ability to make people believe in anything they could do and that they could do it, for us he was the greatest, the greatest politician, a GAA stalwart, a great father, a great husband, a great grandfather, he is reunited with Evelyn now after 32 years”.
Gifts brought before the altar to celebrate Donal’s life including one of his election posters, a picture of the 1995 All-Ireland winning Clare team, a hurley and sliotar, a winning greyhound sheet, a red and white collar, a card from Ennis and Clarecastle coursing club, a photograph of Goleen in West Cork their “second home” where the Careys enjoyed many family holidays, a photograph of his family and a copy of The Clare Champion showing his “thirst for knowledge”.
Local, national and European political figures attended the mass with Captain Martin Cuddihy representing Tánaiste Simon Harris (FG).
Parish priest of Clarecastle, Fr Pat Malone spoke the “different and diverse memories” people had of Donal. “At his core, Donal was a community man, before he entered politics he was a community man and interested al things which happened in a local community and brought people together, main street is an awfully different place from when Donal was growing up, it was a hive of activity then, many shops and people gathered there”.
Fr Malone, a native of Clarecastle recalled the “great celebrations” that Donal was involved in at the house of Pappy McCreevy for greyhounds and cards. “He immersed himself in community and things that built up a pride of place like the GAA club and the Tidy Towns. He was born in Ennis but he was a Magpie to the end, there was a tinge of Ballyea in him which we better not leave out”.
He continued, “Donal was a big man, he was remembered as a big man in not just size but warmth and encouragement. He was a big man in how he reached out to people, his vision”.
Politics opens a family open to the public but the Careys remained private, Fr Malone noted. “It is an extraordinary thing, it is my observation, for a family and a person who was very public in many ways, you as a family are very private which is lovely to have, it must be difficult for someone in public life to have that sense of privacy, what is important is that family remains at the end and it was always there through the end, the warmth of family is so obvious, the closeness and bond is so obvious whether it was birthday, sacramental celebrations or going to holidays in West Cork, all those encounters were so warm and part of everything going on in life”.
Evelyn was remembered as “a powerhouse” by Fr Malone. “Donal was cross-party in many ways because he was so connected to the Barretts in the FF house but Evelyn was able to get the votes, to move around, the charm of a Carlow woman coming into Clare she had that bit of ignorance to try things that no one else would”.
Involved in a syndicate of sixteen members, Donal and his colleagues suspended parliamentary language for their gatherings, “it was free for all, many a party and day of enjoyment had after these long days,” Fr Malone said.
An act of kindness that Donal showed to Fr Malone not long after his ordination was recalled, “it taught me the lesson to be careful, not to be naïve and protect oneself, it also taught me the lesson of looking out for one another, Donal Carey was looking out for me that night and he looked out for many people that night, we don’t have to be nosy but when we look out for each other we make life more important”.
Getting the backing of the people of his area to be elected again and again was “a marvellous honour” for Donal. He stated, “Donal Carey exercised that role with great dignity, he respected all, he represented all that he could, who came his way, he was aware of the vulnerabilities, he reached out to do his best, to relieve their vulnerability, he looked out for others. There’s no doubt that public life is not an easy one, much is expected of our representatives, criticisms are harsh and severe, we’re often very judgemental, we get personal and mostly what people say is inaccurate and unfair, that is more accurate now than the time of Donal Carey”.
Respect must be shown to politicans, Fr Malone stressed. “We need to respect them, support them, encourage them, for if we don’t do it we will end up with a right rag bag of people who won’t be suitable for the role they are undertaking, we need to return the level of respect that. Public representatives need to remember to honour and serve those that elect them, if that doesn’t happen even in a democracy we see what happens around the world where people elected democratically do selfish things which affect so many people. Donal Carey represented people very well with dignity and with respect, he can and you his family can be very highly proud of his achievements and the way he acted in the roles people gave to him”.
John Callinan, Síle Carr, Nicola Killeen, Paschal Russell and Paul Murphy read prayers of the faithful.
Following his career-best 1989 election success, Donal was one of six St Flannan’s College past pupils serving in the same Dáil alongside Miltown Malbay native Brian Hillery (FF) in the constituency of Dun Laoghaire, Kilmihil’s John Browne (FF) in Carlow/Kilkenny, Michael D. Higgins (LAB) formerly of Newmarket-on-Fergus, Tomás Mac Giolla (WP) in Dublin West and Michael O’Kennedy (FF) in Tipperary North.
For ten years, Donal was the sole Fine Gael TD in Clare from 1992 to 2002. His political career hung in the balance in September 2001 when he wasn’t selected on the party ticket following a selection convention, one of the largest attended Fine Gael meetings in the county produced one of the biggest upsets when delegates backed Madeline Taylor-Quinn (FG) and Pat Breen (FG) instead, more than 1,000 people attended the convention with 620 eligible to vote. “I am a member of a party that formed democracy in this country. I accept democracy and I accept the people’s wishes that they did not want me to represent them in the next election. I have given twenty good years in the Dáil and I thought I had more to give, obviously you thought differently,” Donal said when addressing delegates at the time.
He was added to the ticket by then leader Michael Noonan (FG). Speaking in May 2002 ahead of his final election campaign, Donal remarked, “Political life has its own type of oxygen. I think the adrenaline starts to flow once you hear the word election. I have always enjoyed General Elections”. During this campaign, he congratulated Sile de Valera for what he described as one of the finest pieces of fiction Ireland has seen in recent years with her election literature, “I have been forty years in politics and I have yet to read a more arrogant piece of work”.
Following his defeat in May 2002 marking the end of his time as a TD, his supporters wept openly at the count centre while Donal was “visibly shaken and upset” by the outcome.
His contribution to life in Clarecastle, Clare and beyond has been heralded over the past week for the dedication to people and his office.
