Des was a tough taskmaster who didn’t suffer fools gladly – and he commanded the respect of all parties

Des was an enormous influence on me personally and politically, and he invited me to join the party in 1991 to contest the local elections in Rathmines, Dublin, and thereafter to run for the Dáil in the snap election of 1992.

I had no background, family or otherwise, in politics. But I had always admired Des as our local TD in Limerick where I grew up and my parents had supported him and canvassed for him when he founded the new party.

When the party was formed in 1985 I had just had my first child so the whole drama was eclipsed by that.

However, as those early years of having babies passed, I gradually began to notice the dearth of women in politics and watched in particular Mary Harney, who was an outspoken member of the party and minister of state with responsibility for environmental protection.

The Progressive Democrats had entered a coalition government with Fianna Fáil and had a talented and dynamic team of deputies.

The policies of the party appealed to me. It was liberal on social policy, conservative on the economy, pro-competition, pro-enterprise and, importantly, advocated the separation of Church and State.

Des as leader was a moderate when it came to the vexed quarrel over Northern Ireland and supported the principle of consent. He was implacably opposed to Republican violence.

As a very young minister for justice he had to deal with the explosion of violence in Northern Ireland and the threat posed to the State by subversives in the IRA.

He bore the scars of those early battles with former colleagues in Fianna Fáil, and particularly Charlie Haughey.

Yet Des had the foresight to see it was only by being in power could the changes and reforms he believed in be achieved. 

As minister for industry and commerce, he transformed Irish industrial policy and promoted competition in sectors which were previously State-owned, such as aviation.

As a leader he commanded great respect, not only among his colleagues but across all parties.

When he spoke in the Dáil, gardaí on duty would stroll in to hear what had to say. He spoke slowly and with authority always. He was no man for the media soundbite.

For such a successful politician, he was remarkably reluctant to go canvassing with great fanfare.

He didn’t suffer fools gladly, was a hard taskmaster and expected hard work from his deputies.

He gave us all plenty of responsibilities, trusting us to perform to the highest standards.

When I was first elected in 1992, we were in opposition and he appointed me frontbench spokeswoman on health and social welfare – with the daunting task of dealing with the Social Welfare Bill.

There was no hiding in the backbenches for any Progressive Democrat deputy: we were all out front learning our craft on our feet. He was a great mentor to have at times of crisis.

His experience of politics was immense and he always knew the right thing to do in terms of strategy and good sense and what was in the public interest.

Students of politics should read his “I stand by the Republic” speech when he refused to vote against a modest amendment to laws on the availability of contraceptives.

Although the Progressive Democrats were always small in number, for most of our existence we were in power.

Since Des O’Malley went into coalition with Fianna Fáil in 1989 there has not been a government led by Fianna Fáil on its own.

In that sense, the Progressive Democrats broke the mould of Irish politics and made a significant contribution to modernising Ireland through its espousal of pro-enterprise and pro-competition policies.

Being liberal on social issues like divorce and reproductive freedom, I had found a party that had space for me personally and politically.

It was a privilege to know Des O’Malley, to join with him and contribute to public life with him for 15 years.