Seamus O Conaill

One of the problems facing the first Irish government was that of a native civil service

One of the problems facing the first Irish government was that of a native civil service. The solution was provided by an Irishman who was acceptable to the British government because he was in their service, Sir Cornelius Gregg, later chairman of the British Board of Inland Revenue. He set up structures which were to prove sound and creative down to the present moment. The present writer has had testimony to his ability and forethought from the one who worked as his secretary in the planning, Frank Duff, very well known in other more important areas. There remained the question of staffing. Born in Dublin of a Kerry family, Seamus O Conaill (Jim O'Connell to his family and friends) embodied the virtues of our civil servants - the word virtues is used advisedly. An honours graduate of UCD, where he had been auditor of An Cumann Literdha, he entered the civil service soon after completing his studies. He was quickly promoted to high office and he was one of the group of senior civil servants who greatly influenced the affairs of state in the 1960s and 1970s, though not as well known as some of his colleagues. He was appointed Chief Establishment Officer for the service as a whole, dealing with problems of personnel, organisation and structures. It is the judgement of one who worked with him, Kevin Murphy, the present Ombudsman, that he dealt with them "superbly".

Seamus was chairman of the Civil Service General Council under the conciliation and arbitration scheme. His success in this office won him the admiration and, in many cases, the friendship of his colleagues in the Departments and of the representatives of the trade union movement. Seamus was something of a role model to beginners in his world but Taoisigh and Ministers also valued his advice and respected his judgement and impartiality. He was Secretary of the Department of Public Service during the 1970s and had a vital role in the development of the concept of partnership through the National Agreements and National Understandings of that decade. After his retirement, he chaired the Commission on Industrial Relations; its report greatly influenced subsequent legislation.

Seamus O Conaill was a man of strong Christian faith, with the conviction that faith must issue in good works. He was an active member of the St. Vincent de Paul Society for 60 years, until his death. He was a participant in the Boys Club in Dun Laoghaire organised by the Blackrock College Past Pupils Union. He was chosen as president of the Union in 1956. Through a career marked by honours he remained modest, gentle, self-effacing, a lay apostle if you will. But an apostle with a strong sense of humour. In his final days in intensive hospital care he must have created a record by occasionally bursting into song for the entertainment of patients and nurses and his own amusement. He was very much loved by all who knew him. M.O'C.