David Molony, who died suddenly on Wednesday, September 4th, aged 52, was a former Fine Gael senator and TD who might well have been a potential contender for party leader had he not retired early from politics.
He was a member of the Seanad from 1977 to 1981, when he was elected TD for Tipperary North. He remained in the Dáil until 1987, when he opted out of politics to work full-time in his solicitor's practice in his native Thurles.
He left his mark in the Oireachtas as an outspoken and courageous legislator. Conservative on economic matters, he was liberal on social issues.
He was widely respected by his party colleagues, and feared by some in Fianna Fáil for his relentless pursuit of the party during the periods it was in power when he was a member of the Oireachtas.
He was surprisingly overlooked for ministerial promotion by the then party leader, Dr Garret FitzGerald, in the two Fine Gael-Labour coalitions of the early 1980s.
He privately expressed his disappointment, and those who knew him well believed he might not have retired so early from politics had he been given the chance to prove himself as a senior or junior minister.
David Molony was one of eight children born to Paddy and Patricia Molony. His father was a a highly popular Thurles doctor, frequently displaying the kind of social conscience in his work which his son would show as a young solicitor and later as a member of the Oireachtas.
He was educated at the local Ursuline Convent, Thurles CBS, Coláiste na Rinne, in Waterford and Salesian College, Pallaskenry. He went to UCD to study law, becoming active in Young Fine Gael and befriended one of his lecturers, John Kelly, who later become a Fine Gael TD and minister.
As an apprentice solicitor in Dublin, in the early 1970s, David Molony was involved in the development of the voluntary group FLAC (Free Legal Advice Centres) with other young solicitors and barristers.
It was a radical and innovative move at a time when people with little means had limited access to legal help. FLAC made a major contribution to the campaign for an eventual State legal aid scheme.
In 1973, he returned to Tipperary to form the legal firm of Butler, Cunningham and Molony, with offices in Thurles and Templemore.
He continued his involvement with Fine Gael and was director of elections for Tom Dunne who lost the Fine Gael seat in Tipperary North in the 1977 general election. David Molony was elected to the Seanad the same year, becoming party spokesman on law reform, human rights and consumer affairs.
The appointment of the then Fianna Fáil TD for Tipperary North and minister, Michael O'Kennedy, as Ireland's EU Commissioner, paved the way for a by-election in the constituency.
A selection convention was held in the autumn of 1980, with David Molony and local councillor Michael Lowry seeking the nomination. David Molony won the party contest and when he later retired from politics, he was replaced as the local Fine Gael TD by Michael Lowry, who then went on to serve in government. Michael Lowry has since resigned from the party over a financial scandal, and is now sitting as an Independent TD.
The by-election was never held. It was overtaken by the 1981 general election, which resulted in David Molony's election to the Dáil.
Despite being excluded from ministerial office, he took an active role in the Dáil. He also served in the New Ireland Forum.
His support for the 1986 divorce referendum, which was defeated, incurred the wrath of a Tipperary priest who denounced him from the altar. Speaking in the Dáil in May 1986, David Molony strongly criticised what he regarded as Fianna Fáil's position of bogus neutrality on the issue.
"There has been a number of cases with which too many members of this House have been all too familiar in recent years - for example the Kerry babies case and the case of Ann Lovett, from Granard - which did not reflect well on the attitudes that exist here to children, either within or without the home," he said.
David Molony's decision not to contest the 1987 general election was seen as a loss to the party. Although some close to him felt he had an interest in returning to national politics in recent years, he opted to stay with his legal practice. He was director of elections for the Fine Gael candidate, Senator Noel Coonan, in the general election this year.
David Molony's interests included horses - he was an amateur jockey for a period in the 1980s - and sailing. He developed a heart-related illness in recent years but continued with an active professional and social life. He had been working out in a local gym when he died suddenly this week
David Molony is survived by his wife Eve (nee Linders), sons Patrick and Conor, brothers Pierce, Paddy and Martin, and sisters Eleanor, Mary, Ann and Patricia.
David Molony: born 1950; died September 4th 2002.