“He was the guy without the tie and I was the fella in the anorak.” This was how former taoiseach Bertie Ahern said he best remembered the late Tony Gregory.
During expressions of sympathy for the former independent TD in the Dáil today, Mr Ahern said his Dublin Central constituency rival was "a man of integrity, a hard-working public representative and an all-round decent guy".
In an interview before he died, Mr Gregory claimed Mr Ahern never forgave him for dealing directly with Charles Haughey in negotiations to support a Fianna Fáil government in the 1980s.
“While we were political rivals, with the exception of one issue that arose way back on which we differed, we were able to get on and do our work as good friends," Mr Ahern said.
Party leaders and TDs from across the House paid tribute to the long-serving TD and expressed condolences to his partner Annette and his brother Noel. Mr Gregory died, aged 61, on January 2nd after a long battle with cancer.
Many spoke of his dedication to fighting the drug problem and highlighting the issue of poverty in Dublin’s inner city.
"As for the tie, or lack of it, he always said he was sent here by his constituents, that he was entitled to be here in this Chamber and no rules of decorum would prevent him from saying what he had to say. He was admired for that," Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said.
"I spoke to him outside the new building of Leinster House in 2000 shortly before he became really ill and he said he did not speak about the illness - cancer - that it was something he had to bear alone, and so he did with great dignity and courage," Mr Kenny said.
Taoiseach Brian Cowen said irrespective of whether you politically agreed or differed with him, “it was hard not to be impressed by Tony’s passionate belief in politics and his determination to do his utmost for his constituents.”
Mr Cowen said Mr Gregory had an insightful knowledge of many issues especially social deprivation and the problems caused by drugs.
“Through the 1980s and beyond, he refused to be intimated by drug-pushers who were laying prey to the young people in his community.
I have no doubt he will be greatly missed by all his Oireachtas colleagues who respected him greatly,” Mr Cowen said.
Labour leader Eamon Gilmore said Mr Gregory had "showed remarkable political acumen in using the pivotal position in which he found himself in the aftermath of the 1982 general election to highlight the needs of his constituents and the broader political constituency he served".
"I am sure that all the taoiseagh-in-waiting at that time thought that they would have no difficulty in dealing with this political novice, but instead they found themselves outwitted, outfoxed and out-negotiated," he said.
Mr Gilmore also paid tribute to Mr Gregory's love of the Irish langauge and spoke of how he had taught in an all-Irish school prior to becoming a TD and how he was one of the few deputies to regularly contribute in Irish during debates.
Labour’s Joe Costello, who fought against Mr Gregory in a number of elections in the Dublin Central constituency, said the independent TD was a consummate politician with a forensic eye for detail, who had made significant contribution to politics.
Independent TD Finian McGrath, who campaigned closely with Mr Gregory on many issues, said most people know Tony Gregory for the Gregory deal and the drugs issue - "and rightly so because they all made a difference and had an impact on people on the ground in the real sense of community politics".
"However, there was more to Tony than that. He believed in and supported Irish unity and independence, again from a Connolly perspective. He also despised sectarianism and racism and was always on the side of the men and women of no property," Mr McGrath said.
Sinn Féin's Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin said: "Tony played a key role in helping to put together the Technical Group in the 29th Dáil, providing a platform for the smaller parties, Sinn Féin and the Green Party, and the body of Independent Deputies elected to that Dáil."
"His voting and speaking record throughout all his years in the Dáil was consistently progressive and his passing is a significant loss to Irish politics," he said.
