Politicians of all parties paid tribute yesterday to former tánaiste and Labour Party leader Michael O'Leary who died in a swimming pool while on holiday in France.
Mr O'Leary retired as a District Court judge last Monday having reached the age of 70. He will be buried in France.
Born in Cork in 1936, Mr O'Leary was educated at Presentation College, University College Cork and Columbia University in New York, before joining the ITGWU - which later changed its name to Siptu - as a trade union official.
He was elected to the Dáil for Dublin North Central as a Labour TD in 1965 and was minister for labour in the Fine Gael-Labour coalition of 1973-1977.
Mr O'Leary became leader of the Labour Party in 1981 and was tánaiste and minister for energy in Garret FitzGerald's first government. When his coalition strategy was rejected by a Labour Party conference in 1982 he resigned from the party and joined Fine Gael.
He won a seat for Fine Gael in the November 1982 election but was kept out of office by his former Labour colleagues.
He did not contest the 1987 general election and was appointed a District Justice by the rainbow government in 1986.
In recent years Mr O'Leary married for the second time. He is survived by his wife Mary.
Paying tribute to Mr O'Leary, Labour leader Pat Rabbitte said yesterday that he had shown a constant commitment to the principle of public service.
"Michael was a formidable politician who was elected party leader at a very difficult time for the Labour Party. Despite subsequent differences and his departure from the Labour Party, he retained the respect and affection of party colleagues."
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny expressed sympathy on behalf of his party. "Michael O'Leary brought huge energy to his political work as minister for labour in the Fine Gael/Labour government from 1973-1977 and as tánaiste and minister for energy from 1981-1982 where he gained great praise for his handling of the severe weather conditions that occurred during that winter."
Minister for Justice Michael McDowell, who was a personal friend, said Ireland owed a great debt of gratitude to Mr O'Leary for his courageous and innovative career in public life, as a trade unionist, public representative, a minister and tánaiste, and most recently as a judge.
"Michael O'Leary is a man who combined patriotism and good humour. All of his friends will miss him greatly."
Former Labour colleague Barry Desmond, who was a close associate of Mr O'Leary in their student days in UCC and later a party colleague, described him as a very talented politician who had made a great contribution to public life, particularly as minister for labour in the 1970s.
