Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has led tributes to founder Noel Whelan at the Kennedy Summer School in Co Wexford this weekend.
Mr Whelan’s untimely death in July at the age of 50 came as a shock to the the legal, political and wider community.
Many of the speakers at the three-day event in New Ross said the high-profile event was a powerful legacy to his eclectic interests, his intellect, his drive and his commitment to his native Wexford - Mr Whelan grew up in Ballycullane, close to New Ross.
They also sympathised with his wife, Sinéad McSweeney, head of Twitter in Ireland, and his young son, Séamus. Both were present for the entirety of this year’s event.
“Noel’s idealism was an antidote to the corrosive and anti-democratic approach to politics we see elsewhere in the world,” said Mr Varadkar during his address to the School.
The Taoiseach said Mr Whelan’s Fianna Fáil roots had never affected his objectivity as a commentator.
“I knew Noel well and really respected him. I enjoyed his columns in The Irish Times – always reasoned and reasonable, always fair. He never twisted the knife and, despite his political background, he was never partisan.
“For Sinéad and Séamus and those close to him he was a loving husband and father and friend. For the rest of us he was a patriot who loved his country and helped make it a better place. Thank you Noel. We miss you,” he said.
Earlier that day, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin also took time to praise Whelan’s contribution not as driving force of the Kennedy School, but also to wider society.
“Noel was deeply proud of his home community and wanted to create a unique event where people from throughout our country and internationally would come to discuss important events of the past and the great issues of our day.
“Its success has been beyond anything which could have been expected and it is now a well-established fixture in Irish public debate.
“Noel’s family has every right to be deeply proud of the legacy he has left in this Summer School, its unique link with the community and the prestige of its programme,” he said.
Mr Martin said linking the school to the Kennedy visit in 1963 could have been seen as traditional.
“However, I think we should actually see it as challenging us to do something which is rare and badly needed –to look beyond image and celebrity and to engage with much deeper substance,” he said.
Chairman Willie Keilthy said that Mr Whelan had been deeply involved in the preparation of this year’s school during his illness, until a few days before his death.
“ He said we should hold it between the two All-Ireland finals just before politics gets back so we could get get traction on that.
“He often cited the fact that the Kennedy family themes were very broad based, from the law, to politics, to the North, to the Special Olympics.
“We could use that connection to bring people in. He did not want to be just another school, he wanted to broaden it.
“This weekend, for example, we had school kids, active retired, and community events. Politics was the core but around it he wanted it to be community based,” he said.
Summer school director Larry Donnelly said he had became involved with the event in its first year, 2012.
“It was fledgeling effort at that time and I was honoured to speak. He then said I should be involved.
“He had a huge impact on my during the very short time of my friendship. Noel really embodied all the things I love about politics: the power of ideas; the idea that politics is a noble profession; that it should not be demeaned; that it makes a real difference to people’s lives; its community spirit.
“That underpinned all he believed. There is no better example of it than this summer school that goes on every year,” he said.
On Saturday afternoon, in a packed auditorium, a video tribute was played showing some of Noel Whelan’s most memorable moments on television. It included his immediate and emotional reaction to the historic same sex marriage referendum in 2015, and his last contributions as a commentator from earlier this year.
As the RTÉ Morning Ireland presenter Audrey Carville said it was difficult to believe Noel Whelan was not there and a tinge of sadness hanging over the event.
