Paul Coghlan: Death of an old school democrat who believed in fairness for all

The Killarney-based businessman and politician, who has died aged 79, devoted a large part of his life to public service, helping support the jewel that is Muckross House and its beautiful hinterland, and other projects in the main town in south Kerry. He was very shrewd, but also affable, generous, and engaging company.

This writer had the privilege of first meeting him back in 1984 as a junior journalist on The Kerryman, based in Killarney. He was as kind and helpful back then as he ever was in the later years of our acquaintance, because he was a democrat to his fingertips, and never saw merit in time-wasting distinctions of social hierarchy.

The Fine Gael politician was first elected to Killarney town council in May 1985 after years of working with local initiatives including the local Chamber of Commerce. He was later elected to Kerry County Council in 1991, and stood unsuccessfully for the Dáil in 1992.

He really found his niche politically when he was elected to Seanad Éireann in 1997 and he went on to serve effectively there until he retired from public life in 2020. In that role he made his mark with incisive contributions reflecting the world of business, tourism, and rural life in the south west of Ireland.

He was a successful auctioneer and property developer in a very rich part of the country and he was linked by marriage to the landmark firm of MD O’Shea’s builders’ suppliers group in Killarney. Despite his wealth, he retained a compassion for disadvantaged people and had a huge disdain for the well-off whose resources made them less than respectful to ordinary people.

“People who won’t queue like everyone else – now they’re a crowd I dislike,” he told this writer over coffee some time before his exit from politics in spring 2020.

Despite his inability to attract Dáil votes, he was rated as a shrewd judge of politics locally and nationally. He was helpful to younger aspiring politicians and helped create an atmosphere in South Kerry, which was once a wasteland for his own Fine Gael party, finally became a better place for the party.

Despite former party leader, Enda Kenny’s moves to abolish the Seanad, Paul Coghlan remained close to the leadership and worked to help the Fine Gael one-off election landslide in February 2011. While always publicly loyal to the current party leader, Leo Varadkar, the pair had a spiky enough relationship, and he was disappointed that Mr Varadkar did not at least retain some of Kenny’s electoral achievements in the past two elections.

But for all of that, the tributes to Paul Coghlan – including those from Taoiseach Leo Varadkar – were genuine and heartfelt. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam cróga dílis.