Death of Former Member: Expressions of Sympathy Dail Éireann — 2022-12-13 ============================================================ Danny Healy-Rae (IND), Kerry I am glad to get the opportunity to say a few words about Bobby. I welcome his wife, children, brothers and all his family. Bobby was a wonderful man. We became very close friends during the few years we were together in Dáil Éireann. Indeed, I have to say that Bobby was everyone's friend. He loved his family, politics, farming and hurling - all the things country people tend to live for. He served his people with distinction and was a proud Member of the Dáil. He told me how elated he was when he won back his seat in 2015. I was devastated when I heard that he lost it in 2020. It was not because he was not working but there are winners and losers in every election. Bobby was a great man and I am glad to get the opportunity to wish his family well. I know they are brokenhearted, as we all are, on his passing. He suffered a tough couple of years and at least we know he is in a better place now. Coming into Christmas, all I can say is God is with you because Bobby was that kind of person and he lived for his family and the people he represented here, a wonderful and powerful man. I will never forget him. Things are not the same this term as they were the first term. We became very close friends daily while we were up here and I thank him for that. I will never forget him. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2022-12-13/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:51:25+00:00 Sitting date: 2022-12-13