“It is with great sorrow that so many of her friends, colleagues and former constituents will have learned of the death of Mary O’Rourke.
Mary and so many members of her family – including her father PJ Lenihan, brothers Brian and Paddy, nephews Brian and Conor, and son Aengus – have made a distinguished contribution, and at the highest level, to Irish political life.
Mary had a shrewd and magnetic approach to politics and politicians.
As a Minister, Minister of State, Leader of the Seanad, TD, Senator and Councillor, Mary O’Rourke was a deeply committed politician dedicated to serving the public.
The warmth of her personality was reflected in the wide appreciation held for Mary amongst both the public and her fellow members of the Oireachtas, and was respected in her continuing and wide-ranging engagement with so many parts of public life in the years following her political career.
She will be much missed by many both in her native Athlone and beyond.
May I extend my deepest sympathies to Mary’s sons Aengus and Feargal, to her grandchildren, and to all of her many colleagues and friends.
Síocháin siorraí le a h-anam.”
