An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (Resumed)
Seanad Éireann — 2026-06-09
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Mark Duffy (FG), Labour Panel

I would like to take this opportunity to join colleagues in mourning the loss of a friend and former Member of this House, Ernie Caffrey, and offer my sincere condolences to his family. Ernie was a representative of both Mayo and Sligo county councils at different times in his life. He has a unique legacy and served here in the Upper House from 1997 to 2002. He lived an incredible life dedicated to family life, community life, volunteerism and the common good. He was a volunteer on the Moy Valley Resources board of directors for a vast number of years, served on a number of different boards, was an entrepreneur and was a founding member of the newspaper The Western Journal . In later life, he was at the World Masters Athletics Championships in Perth, where he won a silver medal at the age of, I think, 76. I have just come from his funeral Mass and it was brilliant to see him so fondly remembered. It was just this day last week that I was chatting to him, and to see his passing so soon is heartbreaking. It is lovely to see how fondly he has been remembered at home in Ballina, County Mayo, and in this House.
I offer my sincere condolences to Ernie's sons, Liam and Declan, and his daughters, Elizabeth and Miriam. He leaves such a void for the family, but also the community. He was a great friend to me when President Biden was due to visit Ballina. He was one of the main people to research the connection between Ballina and the US President. He discovered that President Biden's ancestor had supplied the bricks that built the cathedral. Ernie had some of those bricks, one of which he presented to President Biden, which was an incredible moment in time and a memory for us all to share in.
More recently, in my political career, Ernie was very supportive of me when I joined Fine Gael and in the general election campaign, when he gave up his upstairs office space for our campaign headquarters. I thank him and offer condolences to his family. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-06-09/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:01+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-06-09