Death in Paradise star Ardal O'Hanlon is mourning the loss of his politician father. Dr Rory O'Hanlon died on March 31 at the age of 92 and was buried on Easter Sunday.
His death notice confirmed he died peacefully at his home, surrounded by his family, but did not reveal a cause of death. The former GP was first elected to the Dáil (Irish parliament) Cavan-Monaghan constituency in 1977 and served as Ireland's health minister from 1987-91. He was re-elected eight more times and became ceann comhairle (speaker of the house) in 2002, staying in the role for five years. He retained his seat for a final term from 2007-11.
In March this year, Ardal, who starred as Det Insp Jack Mooney in the sun-soaked BBC police drama for four series from 2017-20, described his father as "shy" and "hard-working" in a moving tribute.
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"It must have been a real struggle for him. Being a politician in Ireland, you’re literally exposed to the public 24 hours a day. You don’t have security," he said.
People call around to your house morning, noon and night. I suppose there was a precedent for me for putting yourself out there," he told the i newspaper.
"I would have been very hurt on my father’s behalf when I saw him being vilified at various times in his career. He had to grow a thick skin. We had to grow thick skins, as his family.
"I didn’t share his politics, I went away to university and I lurched to the Left. But I always admired him, his convictions. I think it gave me the temperament for this type of career, where you’re going to be criticised," he said.
Ireland's Taoiseach Micheál Martin led the tributes as news of Dr O'Hanlon's death became known.
"Rory was a very valued friend. I greatly valued his insights and advice since I was first elected to Dáil Eireann," he said.
"He was a gifted doctor, a good listener, a keen observer of people, a caring and empathetic man who sought to improve the lives of his patients and community, and a man who was a natural problem-solver," he said.
Writing on Facebook, Sinn Féin TD for Cavan-Monaghan Matt Carthy said: "Rory will be especially missed in his adopted home town of Carrickmacross, where he was central to every major community development for such a long time."
SDLP leader Claire Hanna said he "was a true friend of the SDLP over many decades".
She added: "His cousin Paddy was one of the six founding SDLP MPs at Stormont. His life was one of dedicated public service.
"The thoughts of everyone in the SDLP are with his wife Teresa, his children, his former Fianna Fáil colleagues, and all his family and friends at this deeply sad time."
