He passed away today after a long illness.

Enda Kenny had this to say in a statement.

Quote :

"I regret the passing of Tony Gregory, whom I knew since his election in 1982.

"He was an original mould breaker, both in creating the Gregory Deal, so influential in transforming inner city Dublin, and in refusing to wear a tie in the Chamber of the Dáil, thus disrupting the cosy comfort of Dáil tradition.

"Tony Gregory was a fearless defender of his inner city constituents, proud of his heritage, and absolutely courageous in standing up to drug barons and drug pushers.

"He epitomised his love of country by his continuous and frequent use of the Irish language, which he spoke so well and with such clarity.

"He bore his illness with great dignity, and typical of his demeanour and personality, said in reply to my asking how he was, just some sort time ago: 'I don't talk about it, this is something I have to cope with myself, alone'. I admired his conviction and his total commitment to his people. We shall miss him.

"Ar dheis lamha Dé go raibh a anam dilis."

And this is the response of Taoiseach, Brian Cowen

Quote :

I am saddened to learn of the untimely passing of Deputy Tony Gregory.
Tony served his community of the inner city at a national level with
great dedication and distinction for over a quarter of a century. He
was a proud Dubliner, a great advocate for his community and a diligent
public representative. Prior to his passing, Tony was by far the
longest serving independent deputy in the Dail. The people of Dublin
Central consistently voted for Tony because of his well-deserved
reputation for hard work and his commitment to the disadvantaged in our
society.
I first got to know Tony when I was elected to Dail Eireann in a
by-election in 1984. I know that Tony was proud of the fact that his
Mother hailed from the Croghan area of County Offaly. Tony preceded me
into the House, having first been elected in 1982. By that stage, he
was a prominent figure in Irish politics and through the famous 'Gregory
deal' he became one of Ireland’s most recognised public representatives.
Tony was always courteous and had a fine sense of humour. He had an
insightful knowledge of many issues especially social deprivation and
the problems caused by drugs. I have no doubt he will be greatly missed
by all his Oireachtas colleagues who respected him greatly.
Bhí bród ar Tony i gcónaí as a oidhreacht láidir poblachtánachais agus
bhí an-ghean aige ar an nGaeilge. Thapaigh sé gach deis chun an Ghaeilge
agus an oidhreacht a chur chun cinn.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.

Independent TD Tony Gregory has died at the age of 61 after a long illness.Tributes to the Dublin Central TD have described him as "a legend in his own time" and "a hero of the people of the north inner city".

More at http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2009/0102/breaking28.htm

Damn, just posted this over in An Reilig. Sorry about that.

He sounds like an upstanding citizen and a formidable politician, though I know little of him other than the Gregory Deal.

Really sorry to hear of Tony Gregory's passing. A man deserving of the highest respect. Condolences to his family and may he Rest In Peace.

I'm very sorry about this. He came to the Dail at the time of the Banks Guarantee, very sick, and was one of the few voices raised against it.

Will post more later.

cactus flower wrote:

I'm very sorry about this. He came to the Dail at the time of the Banks Guarantee, very sick, and was one of the few voices raised against it.

Will post more later.

Would be interested to know what he said.

Poor Tony - he died too soon. I hope he passed away peacefully and without suffering.

evercloserunion wrote:

Damn, just posted this over in An Reilig. Sorry about that.

He sounds like an upstanding citizen and a formidable politician, though I know little of him other than the Gregory Deal.

An Reilig is the right place for this.

He is the type that give socialists a good name. A real man of the people unlike the thieves like Castro or killers like Mao. Some will say he hijacked the country but he did it for those who elected him and not for his own bank accounts.

What did he die of cancer or aids as it was described as a long illness.

We find ourselves in agreement for once YD. I don't understand his critics. How on earth do you fault a man for bring in millions to help his constituents? An example to be followed for sure.

evercloserunion wrote:

We find ourselves in agreement for once YD. I don't understand his critics. How on earth do you fault a man for bring in millions to help his constituents? An example to be followed for sure.

I can't see Jackie Healy-Rae getting the same plaudits. I guess some regarded Gregory as clientalist, which is normally a fair enough target of criticism.

905 wrote:

evercloserunion wrote:

We find ourselves in agreement for once YD. I don't understand his critics. How on earth do you fault a man for bring in millions to help his constituents? An example to be followed for sure.

I can't see Jackie Healy-Rae getting the same plaudits. I guess some regarded Gregory as clientalist, which is normally a fair enough target of criticism.

Well the perception is that Gregory's constituents needed it more than Healy-Rae's and were less likely to get it without him. "Inner city" is often synonymous with "deprived".

Clientelism is an extremely cynical way to describe the Gregory Deal. What are TDs for if not to look after their constituents?

In my eyes Gregory has always been the leftie independent (all good), I don't know about his deals.

But TDs are elected to run the country, not just look out for their own people.

905 wrote:

In my eyes Gregory has always been the leftie independent (all good), I don't know about his deals.

But TDs are elected to run the country, not just look out for their own people.

I don't know about that, that to me would be more a job for the executive. Of course TDs are expected to have the best interest of the country in mind, but to me it's similar to the EU situation where our MEPs are our representatives and the commissioners are neutral and have only the interests of the EU as a whole at heart. It stems from the fact that TDs and MEPs are directly elected to their positions unlike commissioners and ministers, so it would be unreasonable to expect self-interest not to play a major part in a constituent's voting preference.

Tony's death is not unexpected. He has been ill for over a year and everyone knew it was only a matter of time. But even then it was a shock. He was a good man, an honest man, a great constituency TD and a man of integrity. He showed that when though very ill he still came into the House of crucial votes, even though he was clearly not a well man and had lost a massive amount of weight. In only two years he physically aged a decade with his illness and treatment. I am only glad his suffering is over, but I feel so sorry for his family and friends, and of course his secretary in the Dáil who was devoted to him. People often think all politicians are crooks. It is ironic that the three most recent politicians to die, Paddy Hillery, Seamus Brennan and Tony, embodied the highest standards of behaviour and integrity.

Tony will be missed by those of us who knew him.

The only thing that separates us Evercloserunion is 29 years.

There are 2 types of socialists. Those out for themselves like Blair and Brown who use it to further themselves and the likes of Gregory who dosn't just talk the talk but they walk the walk. I well remember him getting elected. He did not forget the people who voted for him and he stood for them and to hell with everything else. If it turned out that another election was called later and his TD career was over then he was willing to pay that price.

Most politicians choose their views to give thenselves the best chance of being elected. Here are some examples. Reagan was a democrat until someone told him that California was a republican state. Today he would be a democrat.

Hillary Clinton was Goldwater fan like me till she looked at the electoral map. Giuliani(papals pick) was a democrat until he needed the job which was to be given by a republican administration. All phonies.

It takes a spectacular person to succeed as what we will call a fringe candidate. Take that socialist TD who was beaten last time. He was on a different level than all but a few. He gets beaten while dolts in the highest levels of FF and FG won the seat in 1940 because his father was the parish brute.

I would like to see free market politicians emerge and come to a meeting of minds with the far left for the common purpose of the common man. Let the BIFFOs and the banksters and the eurofools go to hell.

Sad. He was a bl**dy good local TD and his constituents could have used another 10 years of his efforts. Especially right now. Most of the other politicians are being really nice about him though. Which is good, because he deserved it.

[MOD] The two Gregory threads Merged

I didn't even know he was ill. God bless him. A selfless character.

EvotingMachine0197 wrote:

The two Gregory threads Merged <>

I didn't even know he was ill. God bless him. A selfless character.

It sounds awful to say it, but to be perfectly honest I though he died a few months back, but I think that was just when his health really started to go downhill. It didn't mean much to me back then, but it's only since then that I've learned more about him, so it's more saddening for me now than it was back then.

I get very few newspapers, but read the news on the web and catch the 9PM news most nights and I hadn't heard. When was it made public he was so ill ?

EvotingMachine0197 wrote:

I get very few newspapers, but read the news on the web and catch the 9PM news most nights and I hadn't heard. When was it made public he was so ill ?

It wasn't. Tony was a very private person who tried to keep his illness private. The Herald mentioned it a few months ago and he was livid, as he was with p.ie when someone mentioned it on there. People in politics all knew about it. Few expected him even to make it to 2009.

But I thought his illness was widely known even if the media decided not to cover it to respect his privacy. When it comes to cancer the media tend not to reveal the information because the person has enough stress on their plate without having media coverage, public callers, etc. That Seamus Brennan and Paddy Hillery also were dying of cancer was known but not covered. I did predict the death of a TD on the thread on 2009 predictions - I simply didn't say who. The last time I had heard Tony had been hanging in there and there was even talk that he might survive it, but unfortunately that was not to be.

He was evidently very ill when he spoke at the Guarantee debate. I can't find that at the moment I will try and link it tomorrow as he came good and attacked the government head on for that criminal foolishness.

cactus flower wrote:

He was evidently very ill when he spoke at the Guarantee debate. I can't find that at the moment I will try and link it tomorrow as he came good and attacked the government head on for that criminal foolishness.

He was. That's why RTÉ chose him for a One to One. Everyone knew it was only a matter of time, and the One to One was seen as Tony's likely last interview. It made it poignant to watch.

Surely he is not using the death of poor Tony which he would know was emminent and unavoidable to claim a correct prediction.

I am supposed to be the politically incorrect poster but I would not stoop so low.

How far this once great poster has fallen.

youngdan wrote:

Surely he is not using the death of poor Tony which he would know was emminent and unavoidable to claim a correct prediction.

I am supposed to be the politically incorrect poster but I would not stoop so low.

How far this once great poster has fallen.

And I'm sure that you wouldn't use the occasion of his death to claim moral high ground.

youngdan wrote:

Surely he is not using the death of poor Tony which he would know was emminent and unavoidable to claim a correct prediction.

I am supposed to be the politically incorrect poster but I would not stoop so low.

How far this once great poster has fallen.

I dispute, once, great and poster.

That nonsense aside, Tony seemed a good skin, very sad to see him go.