TOM DILLON-LEETCH: Tom Dillon-Leetch, who has died aged 64, was a lawyer with a passion for justice and a fierce loyalty to the "small man". He combined a Parnellite political heritage with a nationalism independent of republicanism.
His family had a long association with the law and politics. An aunt, Molly Dillon-Leetch-Callan, was the second woman to be called to the Irish Bar. And his grandfather stood as a Parnellite candidate after the Irish Parliamentary Party split.
An admirer of Michael D. Higgins and Conor Cruise-O'Brien, Tom Dillon-Leetch found an outlet for his radicalism in the Labour Party and was the party's Mayo East candidate in the 1973 general election.
He polled 1,432 first preference votes - far short of a quota, but a respectable vote for a Labour candidate in a rural constituency 30 years ago.
He was not, however, impressed by the conduct of the election. In particular, he was not satisfied that the ballot was in all respects secret. In 1974 he took an action by way of election petition to set aside the result in Mayo East. But his High Court action, which was heard in Ballina, was unsuccessful. On appeal to the Supreme Court, he lost by a three-two decision.
In 1982 he issued High Court proceedings against the former Taoiseach, Charles Haughey, and his Minister for Finance, Gene Fitzgerald, on the grounds that they had [in 1981] defaulted in their constitutional obligations to present a budget based on accurate receipts and expenditure. But, as he was unable to personally serve papers on Mr Haughey, the proceedings lapsed.
Thomas Aloysius Dillon-Leetch was born on November 12th, 1939, in Ballyhaunis, Co Mayo, one of the six children of John Dillon-Leetch and his wife Mary (née Claffey). The family name originated in the marriage of his great-grandfather, a Leetch, to a member of the Dillon family headed by Lord Dillon.
It was his grandfather, also named Thomas and a lawyer, who hyphenated the surname. His grandfather was something of a Francophile and, when he returned from a visit to France, a local enquired how things were in Paris. "Loving is only in its infancy in Ballyhaunis," was the reply. After completing his early education at Ballyhaunis National School, Dillon-Leetch attended Castleknock College and later read law at University College Dublin. He met his wife, Rosemary Cullen, at UCD and they married when they were both 21. He qualified as a solicitor in 1962 and joined the family practice in Ballyhaunis.
He devoted himself relentlessly as a solicitor serving the people of Mayo and was widely known as a skilled lawyer-solicitor, not only in his office practice, but also as an exceptionally able and fearless court advocate.
He lived comfortably in Ballyhaunis, but never forgot those who were less well off. He enjoyed professional success and a secure, happy family life. Weekends were spent sailing at Roundstone Bay. But tragedy struck when his son Mark died in his twenties after a two-year illness.
Almost immediately he left Ballyhaunis, quitting the family practice, and moved to Dublin. He devoted himself to further legal studies at King's Inns and was called to the Bar. He built up a busy, mixed practice on the Western Circuit although he continued to live in Dublin. He jealously guarded his privacy and good name.
In 1990 he defended himself against charges brought following a disagreement with gardaí on a Dublin street.
After a seven-hour hearing at the District Court, he was cleared of all charges.
A bibliophile, he had a special interest in Irish literature. He will be remembered for a multitude of qualities. It was said of him that as a young man he had all the Wildean demeanour of a wealthy, relaxed and cultivated Oxonian. These characteristics he maintained in many respects throughout his varied life.
On his last visit to Ballyhaunis he said to the parish priest, Father Cooney, that the greatest gift a person can give is the gift of himself. He gave this with abundance.
He is survived by his wife, Rosemary, son, John, daughter, Jane, mother Mary, sisters, Anna, Margaret, Finola and Lisa, and brother, John.
Tom Dillon-Leetch: born November 12th, 1939; died February 23rd, 2004.