Three phrases have been used over and over in the last few days to describe the late Jack Lynch - the real Taoiseach; honest Jack; one of nature's gentlemen. In its own way, each describes the man I had the pleasure of knowing. I don't believe there ever was or ever will be another politician who commanded such respect, was so universally liked right across the political divide and had such charisma.
Like anyone brought up in a political household, I heard Jack Lynch's name from time to time. But it was in 1966, when he was elected Fianna Fail leader and Taoiseach, that I really started to learn about him. I began to hear the stories of what he was like, what he did and how he conducted himself.
My first direct contact with the man came in 1969 when he came on the leader's customary election tour to Galway West. At the time the Cearta Sibhialta (Civil Rights) movement in south Connemara was at its strongest. It was a group with no love of the Fianna Fail leader and was not behind the door in expressing it.
He was shouted at, barracked and verbally abused. The worst excess came at An Tulach, Baile na hAbhainn - now more famous as the home of TG4. Tacks and nails were placed on the bridge there and punctured many car tyres among Jack Lynch's entourage. His response throughout was calm, good natured and polite.
Curiously, for such a gentleman, his best speeches tended to be made while he was being heckled. At the time, large public meetings were far more a part of politics than they are now. He was a master at dealing with the mixed crowds that would turn up.
He was also equipped with wisdom. Rather than hold any grudge over the hostile reception he received in Galway, he brought immense pride and joy to Carna in mid-Connemara when he appointed its adopted son, Johnny Geoghegan, Parliamentary Secretary for Social Welfare.
My next very personal encounter with him was when my father died in 1975. Jack attended the funeral, gave an outstanding oration at the graveside and then came to our family home for a meal. Though it was a very sad occasion, the private visit meant the world to my mother, my brother and me. He shared memories and we laughed a lot despite the sadness.
It was he who first planted my name as the by-election candidate. His personal intervention in the by-election campaign made an enormous difference to a political novice facing her first campaign. Watching him in action with the voters, finding each one fascinating, showing a genuine interest in their problems and hopes, was an experience I won't forget.
Two years later, Jack was to make history by appointing the first woman Parliamentary Secretary - me. The way he treated the appointment was an indication of his attitude to women. I had no indication whatever that this was to happen - he just announced my name with all the others in the il Dail chamber. No fanfare, no chest-beating, no attempt to turn the appointment into a political point-scoring exercise. He decided that I happened to be the best person for the job and my gender had no part of the decision.
Were it not for his faith in me way back then, I'm quite sure my political career would have been different. I will be eternally grateful to him for appointing me to a job that stretched me intellectually, challenged me and gained me a deep understanding of how laws are made and changed. It was a role I relished.
In all the tributes paid to him, what many forgot was that he was the first Fianna Fail Minister for the Gaeltacht. As Taoiseach, he was instrumental in setting up Raidio na Gaeltachta on Easter Sunday 1972 and in founding Udaras na Gaeltachta. To his eternal credit, he made a point of speaking in both Irish and English on every public occasion.
A truly great political leader requires steel as well as good interpersonal skills. Running through this gentleman was a deep vein of tempered steel. His immense strength of character and his political courage saw him through a crisis that would have destroyed most party leaders. I doubt if any other Taoiseach could have sacked two senior ministers and have a third resign in protest, and gone on to survive and thrive.
Jack Lynch has already passed, in many minds, into a part of our history. People under 35 simply don't remember him and have had their impressions shaped by photographs. Those pictures have served him both well and badly.
Take a look at any photograph that shows Jack and Mairin Lynch together. The closeness, the constant awareness and care for each other could not be staged. He and his wife were what is now fashionably referred to as soul mates. That aspect of their relationship has been preserved by the camera lens.
What photographs haven't done is to communicate the physical nature of the man. Looking through press cuttings, you might get the impression that this was a weak man. Fortunately, he was the first Taoiseach of the television age. He was the first party leader to be involved in party political broadcasts that were not simply talking heads running through a list of policies.
When you see and hear any of this footage you are forced to remember that this was a winner of six All-Ireland medals. An athlete, graceful and powerful in his movements and confident in his physical presence.
He was also a great script reader. The best example I can think of was his address to the nation at the start of the Troubles. The only way you can tell that his words were scripted is the rustle of the paper.
His passing is a great loss to all of us - the country he led, the political system he helped to shape, the party he nurtured, the sporting world he illuminated, but most especially to Mairin. We will miss him greatly.
Ar dheis laimh De go raibh a anam dhilis.
Maire Geoghegan-Quinn can be contacted at mgquinn@irish-times.ie