Tributes paid to former Fianna Fáil MEP Brian Crowley after death aged 61

By Cillian Sherlock, Press Association

Tributes have been paid to former Fianna Fáil MEP Brian Crowley following his death at the age of 61.

Mr Crowley was nominated to the Seanad in 1993, and shortly thereafter topped the poll in the Munster constituency for the European Parliament in 1994 and 1998, as well as the subsequent South constituency in 2004, 2009 and 2014.

In 2011, he withdrew his hopes to be a potential candidate for the presidential race after determining that he did not have the backing of Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin.

Mr Crowley, who was paralysed by an accident when he was 16 and used a wheelchair, retired from politics in 2019.

On Friday, Taoiseach and Fianna Fáil leader Mr Martin paid tribute to a “hugely impressive individual”, and said: “It was with great sadness that I learned of the passing of Brian Crowley.”

Mr Martin said the former MEP came from “a family steeped in public service” and had a relationship with his voters that gained strength “over his years of dedicated and energetic service”.

He added: “His vote was testament to the truly strong bond between him and the people he represented. Without question he was one of the great vote-getters of the modern political era. He had no equal.

“He was also an impactful legislator in the European Parliament and was extremely popular with parliamentarians and officials throughout the European Union.”

Mr Martin said that Mr Crowley demonstrated “incredible personal resilience and strength of character”.

He said: “With great natural musical ability and a fantastic outgoing personality, he was the life and soul of many Fianna Fáil Ard Fheiseanna and thrilled many on the musical scene in Shanleys in Clonakilty for many years.

“Brian was also a person of deep personal faith, which was profoundly important to him as he struggled with the complications arising from his disability in his later years.

“Brian was deeply committed to his community and his country. His loss will be felt deeply by his mother Sally, his family, his large circle of friends and all his former colleagues.”

Fine Gael leader and Tánaiste Simon Harris said he saw the “huge, deep and enduring affection” Mr Crowley’s constituents had for him.

He said: “I just want to pay tribute to him. I want to send my sympathies and the sympathies of the Fine Gael party and I know the sympathies of people across the country, to Brian’s family.

“He’s somebody who, despite a sustained period of ill health, served people in this country, particularly people in Cork and in Ireland South, with great affection.

“When I ran in the European elections in 2014, and unsuccessfully ran, I was left in no doubt as I travelled across the vast constituency that is Ireland South of the huge, deep and enduring affection that the people of that constituency had and have for Brian. And I just want to keep him in my thoughts and prayers.”

Billy Kelleher, who has been the Fianna Fail MEP for Ireland South since 2019, said his predecessor was “an exceptional human being who represented the very best of what it meant to be an Irish person”.

Mr Kelleher, who was appointed to the Seanad as a nominee of taoiseach Albert Reynolds at the same time as Mr Crowley, said: “People, in Munster, and especially in our native Cork, respected, admired and loved him. He also had a very special connection with young people and women.

“Brian was a fierce advocate for people with disabilities. In the European Parliament, he led by example and was always a champion for the rights of people with disabilities.”

Mr Kelleher said Mr Crowley had texted him earlier in the week to wish him a happy birthday.

He said: “In his later years, Brian was beset by many health difficulties, which sadly required long periods of hospitalisation. However, he never lost hope, and he never lost his faith.

“Despite his many health challenges, he was always in touch with his constituents and most recently with me and other Fianna Fail friends and colleagues offering advice and sometimes criticism that was usually warranted.”

Mr Kelleher added: “Brian was a proud Irish patriot and a deeply committed European who lived life to the full irrespective of what life threw at him.”