The esteem and affection in which the Irish Times journalist, Mary Cummins, was held was movingly conveyed by group leaders and spokespersons in the House yesterday. At the conclusion of tributes, members observed a period of silence in memory of Ms Cummins, who died on Monday after a lengthy struggle against cancer.
Several speakers alluded to the extensive coverage afforded to the proceedings of the House when she was the Seanad correspondent of The Irish Times.
The tributes were led by the Cathaoirleach, Mr Brian Mullooly, who said that apart from being an outstanding journalist, Ms Cummins had had a very special association with and affection for Seanad Eireann.
"She recognised and acknowledged the quality and relevance of the debates in this chamber, and this came through very clearly in her extensive coverage of Seanad business in her Irish Times reports."
The leader of the House, Mr Donie Cassidy (FF) said Ms Cummins had proudly covered Seanad proceedings for many years. "I knew her personally here and will always remember her for her love of life and her tremendous sense of humour. She was an extremely gifted writer and journalist and her writings will be greatly missed by us all here. Although Mary suffered a long illness, her death was a real shock."
Mr Maurice Manning, Fine Gael leader in the House, said he had been shocked and saddened to hear of the journalist's death.
Ms Cummins was first and foremost a fine journalist who was accurate and fair and a great respecter of truth. "She could be sharp, she could be critical and she could be angry in what she wrote, but she would never knowingly do anyone down. She would never slant or distort her material or allow bias to creep into what she wrote. She was a fine writer with a clear style and a sharp eye for detail."
Dr Mary Henry (Ind) reflected on how pleased she felt Ms Cummins would have been to hear the tributes paid to her in the Seanad because of the "fantastic interest" she had in the House.
She said that as a friend of the journalist for almost 30 years, it had been a great shock to learn of her sudden death.
Mr Joe Costello (Lab) described Ms Cummins as a very fine Irish Times journalist. She had been the first to give sustained coverage to the proceedings of the House to the public at large. Mr John Dardis (PD), deputy Government leader in the House, said Ms Cummins was a person of very high quality. She had been definitely part of the Seanad community and had reported the House with unusual accuracy and clarity. It was characteristic of her journalism that accuracy was something she valued greatly.