Taoiseach hails the late Paddy Smith as "a true republican"

An Taoiseach Micheál Martin has this afternoon paid tribute to a giant of both Cavan and Irish politics - the late Paddy Smith TD.

Members of the Knockbride Cumainn gathered at St Brigid's Church, Tunnyduff in Bailieborough to hear the Taoiseach Micheál Martin deliver a graveside oration.

The event coincided with the centenary of the teenage rebel leader being sentenced to death by court martial for ‘treason and levying war’ during the War of Independence

In the course of his lengthy address he outlined his prominent role during the revolutionary period and then his epic career in politics, and described Paddy Smith as "first a man of his community".

Tribute

An Taoiseach Micheál Martin's address in full:

It is a privilege to be with you today to honour Paddy Smith, a great servant of the Irish people and of the communities which he represented so effectively for over half a century.

The facts of Paddy Smith’s life are remarkable by any measure.

Commander during the War of Independence at only 19.

Narrowly escaped execution at 20.

Elected to Dáil Éireann at 22 and returned for Cavan in 17 elections in a row.

Holder of various ministerial offices for 19 years.

The amazing thing about these achievements is that they do not even come close to giving us the full picture of a man who was a leading member of our great founding generation.

Paddy Smith was first a man of his community. This is where he learned his values and this is where he could see the impact of his work.

The eighth son of a farmer with 20 acres to support his family, Paddy Smith had to work for everything he ever owned or achieved in life.

Like nearly everyone in his situation, and the great majority of Irish people as a whole, he left school at 14, when the economic needs of his family meant that there was no alternative. So, he had to continue his education and intellectual development on his own.

If we look back at the great names which helped build our country in the last century, in case after case you see a hunger for education and knowledge.

The incredible lengths which Eamon de Valera went to in order to secure an education, the use by Seán Lemass of every spare minute while he sat in jail to read and learn about the world. This is the same spirit which motivated Paddy Smith, whose greatest friends in later life were comrades who read deeply of the history and culture of Ireland and the wider world.

He was the son of a small strip of land in rural community at the edge of continent, but he was nonetheless inspired by the ideals of national independence and progress which were growing here and throughout much of Europe.

When he joined the Volunteers at only 16 he was not some hothead adventurer – he was mature well beyond his years and his leadership qualities were obvious to all who knew him.

The Carrickallen, 3rd Brigade of the 5th Northern Division is recorded in the Bureau of Military History as having had 265 members of all ranks when the Truce was signed. This made it one of the most significant Brigades in North Leinster or Ulster and it was led by the youngest O.C. in the entire country.

The records of the Bureau are full of witness statements which confirm how he was deeply respected by his comrades – even by those who went on to take a different side after 1922.

To be a Brigade leader in this area meant that you faced inevitable pressure from the crown forces and many, including Paddy Smith, were captured. We are all extremely lucky that he was saved from execution by the Truce.

He opposed the Treaty for practical not abstract ideological reasons.

His position was that he felt that more could have been achieved through negotiations – and that this would have provided a basis for avoiding conflict.

As we move into a period of marking the centenary of the Treaty and then the Civil War one of the great challenges which we face as a country is to move beyond the simplistic narratives which have dominated a lot of discussion for the last century.

The great failure of that time is that many good-faith efforts to prevent division and find a common way forward were rejected. Particularly for men and women who have suffered and seen so much sacrifice in the service of a particular ideal, points which can be presented in history as small can matter very much.

At times when gestures which could build confidence and restore links were badly needed they were too often rejected. And there is simply no way of looking at the six months after the Treaty vote and missing the destructive absolutism of many of the positions taken by the departing administration.

Paddy Smith opposed the Treaty but was as committed as ever to the cause of his country and his community. That is why he joined in founding a new progressive republican party, focused on finding new ways forwards rather than reliving past disputes.

Everywhere you read about Paddy Smith you come across his deep respect and admiration for Eamon de Valera – and also Dev’s respect and admiration for his young colleague.

Smith could not abide the attacks on Dev as some sort of totalitarian or regressive leader – and the facts show that no Irish leader of the 20th century was so comprehensively underestimated and caricatured as the person who held the democratic mandate to lead our country for longer than any person ever has and most likely ever will.

Eamon de Valera and the Fianna Fáil government he led, is the only recorded example of a party born out of revolutionary conflict getting into government and actually introducing limits on its own powers.

If you want to know the real mark of his leadership look no further than the fact that in 1937, when the democratic world was falling to extremism of the right and left, Fianna Fáil democratically enacted a constitution which guaranteed personal rights, protected minority religions, ended government’s ability to amend the constitution without a referendum and gave the courts the right to limit government actions.

By the standards of those times, this republican constitution was truly remarkable – and it is entirely inappropriate that it be judged by its smaller failings or by the standards of eight decades later.

Paddy Smith served as either a parliamentary secretary or full member of cabinet for nearly 19 years. During this time he developed a lasting record of concern for the future of hard-pressed communities.

He was part of a brilliant group of ministers who, during the Second World War kept Ireland fed and safe. Land devoted to tillage was increased almost overnight by two-thirds and a new maritime fleet was established to keep open a handful of trading routes.

While this is something often missing from accounts of the time, the government’s efforts also helped to keep Britain fed. Over 3½ million cattle were exported to Britain during the war – a trade kept open in spite of the risks involved.

Paddy Smith found those years of urgent action and common purpose to be amongst his happiest – and they led to his first appointment to the position he is most remembered for, Minister for Agriculture.

He was a thoughtful and effective minister – and his core priority was always addressing both the urgent needs of today and finding a way to frame a better future.

He worked to overcome the impacts of tuberculosis and he was constantly advocating for measures to help the most economically marginal farms and communities.

He was regularly annoyed by the approach of new organisations lobbying him and demonstrating against him, but he emphatically was not was a man for the status quo.

You can see this in his visionary decision to create what is now Teagasc, the centre-piece of a world-leading research and development programme for agriculture, the food industry and rural communities.

He and the Fianna Fáil government he served in understood that you have to invest in creating new opportunities and approaches – you have to invest in developing new options if you want a prosperous future for rural communities.

History teaches us that in every part of the world agriculture doesn’t stand still, and the economy of rural life is constantly evolving. We should always remember the lesson of what we can achieve when we invest in shaping change rather than just being impacted by change.

Paddy Smith rejected the populist idea, which is still a powerful force in our public debates, that it was the people against the government. He insisted that democratically-elected government had both a mandate and responsibilities which represented interests far beyond those on individual groups. This was a feature of his time in Agriculture and was a major part of his final resignation.

As a minister he was the driving force behind new investments in local infrastructure and he supported a major increase in social housing. He was an important voice in the group of ministers who oversaw the White Paper which provided the foundations for a modern, outward-looking Irish economy.

In his later years he was open about how his opinions on many issues, such as how to achieve the unity which remains a core value for the party he served with such distinction.

He would be very proud of how Michael and Niamh have carried his tradition of service into new generations.

Paddy Smith was a big character and he not only held many positions, as a true republican, he used them in order to serve the interests of all Irish people.

Through his life he won and maintained the support of the people who knew him best.

He was their leader in our country’s struggle for freedom and he was their leader as we worked to build on this freedom.

Today, as much as ever before, it is right that we remember his life of service and of the great legacy of his generation.

Ar dheis De go raibh a h’anam