Jackie Healy Rae has died

JumpShivers

Hearing of reports that Jackie Healy Rae has died.

83, a great age.

May he RIP.

Mod edit. A word of warning to show some respect and decorum please, thanks.

Mod

Ruu

http://www.rte.ie/news/2014/1205/664888-jackie-healy-rae/

Former Independent TD for Kerry South Jackie Healy-Rae has died at the age of 83.

He had been ill for some time. He died at 1:35pm today at Kerry General Hospital in Tralee.

He was the patriarch of a poilitical dynasty, which includes his son Michael, who succeeded him as a TD for Kerry South and another son Danny and a grandson Johnny who are members of Kerry County Council.

Mr Healy-Rae had four sons and two daughters and his family were with him when he died this afternoon.

Honey Monster

A good man. Condolences to his family.

diomed

Rest In Peace.
The roads in Kerry will go to rack and ruin.

iDave

RIP

Served Kerry with grace and dignity.

uch

RIP

jimgoose

He was certainly a unique character. RIP Jackie bah. :cool:

Slicemeister

RIP, every constituency could do with a JHR.

ZiabR

RIP

KKkitty

Sad loss for his family at this time of year. R.I.P.

AudreyHepburn

RIP. A real character.

wendell borton

He fixed the road.

Harry Palmr

I drove on some of his roads.

Honey Monster

If every politician did as much for their county's as JHR we would live in a better country. Tipperary TDs take note.

Riskymove

TBF although many us may not be impressed with the parish pump politics and the "everything for my area" approach to national politics......he was what he was and the people elected him to do it.

He was a hard working representative for South Kerry and never seemed to be any badness to him or anything like that.

hard time of a year for a family too.

R.I.P.

Donkey Oaty

Whatever people think of his politics, he is definitely one of those politicians who will be remembered with a smile rather than a snarl.

mikeym

R.I.P

quad_red

There are always two - a master and an apprentice

Seriously though, he played on his buffoon exterior but beneath it was an utterly shrewd political operator with a brilliant ability to deliver for his local constituents.

Condolences to his family.

VinLieger

Donkey Oaty wrote: »

Whatever people think of his politics, he is definitely one of those politicians who will be remembered with a smile rather than a snarl.

Anyone outside of Kerry who fondly remembers him is deluded, the man held up numerous National issues to further his own local political agenda, yes I am sorry to his family for the loss but for everyone complaining about how politicians only look after themselves and care about getting reelected here is one of the prime examples and ignoring this fact due his death is hypocrisy of the highest order

conorhal

Riskymove wrote: »

TBF although many us may not be impressed with the parish pump politics and the "everything for my area" approach to national politics......he was what he was and the people elected him to do it.

He was a hard working representative for South Kerry and never seemed to be any badness to him or anything like that.

hard time of a year for a family too.

R.I.P.

In fact he might just be the first and last politician that did what he was elected to do.
While I used to bemoan parish pump politics, I've gained a new appreciation of late for politicians that listen to people more then once every five years and then spend the rest of the time post election barely concealing their contempt for the plebs that vote for them, something that couldn't said about Healy Rae.

Talib Fiasco

Prepare for constant reruns of At Home With the Healy Rae's for Christmas now!

Ah no though, RIP to him. I know one of his granddaughters well enough. He'll be sorely missed in Kerry and indeed in Ireland. Some character.

Donkey Oaty

VinLieger wrote: »

Anyone outside of Kerry who fondly remembers him is deluded, the man held up numerous National issues to further his own local political agenda, yes I am sorry to his family for the loss but for everyone complaining about how politicians only look after themselves and care about getting reelected here is one of the prime examples and ignoring this fact due his death is hypocrisy of the highest order

Fair enough - but can we agree at least on "a wry smile" then?

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

In light of the Mod note on the OP - he was certainly unique.

BoJack Horseman

Why are people above criticism just because they have died?

TwoShedsJackson

BoJack Horseman wrote: »

Why are people above criticism just because they have died?

'Never a bollix died' as someone posted here recently, they're all saints in the graveyard.

humanji

BoJack Horseman wrote: »

Why are people above criticism just because they have died?

It's the old internet adage, "Don't be a dick". You don't have to pretend to like the guy, but you don't have to go out of your way to hurl abuse at him either. Common sense should come into it.


I should also add the below note:

MOD: let's not get into the usual "Why can't I insult the dead guy" debate on here. There's a feedback forum for that.

Sunnyisland

RIP

Sunnyisland

BoJack Horseman wrote: »

Why are people above criticism just because they have died?

Mainly as there not here to answer the said criticism.

BoJack Horseman

realies wrote: »

Mainly as there not here to answer the said criticism.

Was he posting in his defence here while alive?

DeadHand

BoJack Horseman wrote: »

Why are people above criticism just because they have died?

They aren't, but it's basic decency in a case like this to tone it down on the day they died.

Whatever about the cynicism of his politics there was no malice in the man.

May he rest in peace.

Streetwalker

He was a sign of everything that is wrong with this country. R.I.P.

RobertKK

Lord have mercy on him, as others said, he will be missed by his family, friends, those who respected and it is the worst time of the year to lose a loved one (not that any time is good).
Rest in Peace.

sabat

Over €2 million and counting given to Healy Rae's firm by Kerry County Council over the years...

DeadHand

sabat wrote: »

Over €2 million and counting given to Healy Rae's firm by Kerry County Council over the years...

Not "given". Paid.

Larbre34

A family has lost a father who they loved. From that point of view I sympathise with their loss.

However JHR was an exemplar of the dreadful clientilism which typifies Irish politics - the very opposite of a national interest. I hope people will look at how he conducted his business and do the other thing.

RIP.

Valetta

sabat wrote: »

Over €2 million and counting given to Healy Rae's firm by Kerry County Council over the years...

An utterly meaningless post.

R.I.P.

Valetta

Larbre34 wrote: »

However JHR was an exemplar of the dreadful clientilism which typifies Irish politics - the very opposite of a national interest. I hope people will look at how he conducted his business and do the other thing.

RIP.

He was a public representative, elected by his constituents to represent them, which he did with aplomb.

SEPT 23 1989

I could never understand what he was saying

RIP

toxicity234

Rip

It Funny people referring to the National interest.
After 20 years working with politicians in my job in Dublin, The National interest is Dublin and around Dublin. If not for politicians like him the Dublin Interest would be the national interest and the rest of the county would be forgot about.

Skylinehead

Valetta wrote: »

He was a public representative, elected by his constituents to represent them, which he did with aplomb.

That's what a counciller is supposed to do, not a TD.

VinLieger

Valetta wrote: »

He was a public representative, elected by his constituents to represent them, which he did with aplomb.

You completely misunderstand the national responsibility of a TD above the local responsibility and typify everything wrong with how people vote in this country in general elections

Ben D Bus

Honey Monster wrote: »

If every politician did as much for their county's as JHR we would live in a better country. Tipperary TDs take note.

We'd have had 26 counties fighting against each other to get at the trough rather than one country working together.

RIP.

Lord Trollington

What I don't understand is the term "parish pump" politics.

He was elected by the people of South Kerry, in my eyes he done his job by representing the people of South Kerry.

Labour are suppose to represent the "working class" and they have sold themselves out.

If all anyone has against JHR is parish pump, he hasn't done too bad for himself.

Yamanoto

iDave wrote: »

Served Kerry with grace and dignity.

Fair to say many would disagree.

Condolences to his family, RIP.

Valetta

VinLieger wrote: »

You completely misunderstand the national responsibility of a TD above the local responsibility and typify everything wrong with how people vote in this country in general elections

Eh... no I don't.

Kermit.de.frog

RIP. In two minds about him. He obviously did well for his constituents but equally he was the epitome of parochial, gombeen, parish pump politics in Ireland.

josip

Will be missed by many in South Kerry.
Outside of that, I'm not so sure.

Pumpkinseeds

Ah, sure the family pub will do great business from now right through Christmas. That's about as nice as I can get with the Healy Rae's.

efb

He served Kerry South the way Tony Gregory did Dublin Central. The Dublincentric media made a saint of one and a bafoon of the other. But he delivered for his constituents

Richard tea

Him and his family introduced me to the term Gombeen politics.

Donkey Oaty

Irish Times obit is up already, and here's an extract:

He was not beyond hamming it up when confronted by a media posse, as was the case when he was an Independent TD keeping the government in power in the run-up to the IMF arriving in Dublin.
Alighting from a taxi outside Leinster House, he was asked if he would continue to support the Fianna Fail-led coalition. “I don’t know what is going on,” he declared. “I’m just up from the bogs of Kerry.” He knew the soundbite would feature in the evening news bulletins.