Aidan Doyle:AIDAN DOYLE, who has died aged 88, was a former clerk-assistant of Dáil Éireann.
He was born in Dublin in 1922 and educated at Grantham Street National School, CBS Synge Street and UCD. His long career of 48 years in the public sector began in 1939. During the second World War, he was drafted in to serve in the Department of Defence.
He served in other departments such as wartime supplies – where he was involved in rationing – and industry and commerce, before joining the Houses of the Oireachtas in 1950.
There, he served in many of the sections but specialised in parliamentary procedure. In 1969 this was recognised when he was appointed to one of the officers of the House positions – clerk-assistant of the Seanad. In 1972 he was promoted to a new position of clerk-administrator of services, the first step in meeting the increasingly administrative demands in serving the Houses beyond the procedural. These services are incorporated today under a statutory body, the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission.
In April 1975 he was appointed clerk-assistant of the Dáil. In recognition of his work, his post was upgraded to deputy secretary in 1982. His role, although sitting in front of the Ceann Comhairle in the Dáil, was to a large extent behind the scenes. The long list of positions he held does not give the full picture of his contribution.
He was a resourceful official, skilled enough to be regarded as a safe pair of hands while being innovative. Much of the modern-day database on procedure in standing orders is down to his work.
His knowledge of the Constitution, standing orders and their complement rulings of the chair was near encyclopaedic. Most of all, though, he is remembered by former colleagues in Leinster House as being very approachable and decisive.
Aidan Doyle set standards for others to follow. After his retirement in 1987, he produced a definitive version of his first love in his professional life, Rulings of the Chair, the format of which is followed to this day.
His wife Eileen died 13 years ago. He is survived by their daughters Anne, Eibhlín, Eva and Gabrielle, their son Tom, his brother Paddy and sister Betty.
Aiden Doyle: born January 6th 1922; died March 26th, 2010.