I have seldom known Pat Monahan’s equal. To say he was a man of integrity is an understatement.

He wore his integrity as a badge on his sleeve. He spoke clearly and straight on all issues. He had no time for “wishy-washy” talk, or speaking out of “both sides of the mouth”. He did not say something because he thought it would please you. He held strong clear opinions because he considered them to be correct. They were made after listening to or considering all sides of an argument; whether those opinions were popular or not made absolutely no difference to him.

In company, Pat would listen to all sides of the arguments, seldom speaking and then, towards the end of the discussion, he would respectfully outline his views in one or two sentences which invariably would sum up what was discussed.

Farming in Leitrim

Leitrim is not the easiest of places to farm, but no one ever heard him complain of his farming problems. The only time he spoke of problems was when he was looking for benefits for Leitrim and the west of Ireland. He managed his farm well and indeed increased its size and farmed to its best advantage to rear and educate his family.

The only part of “progress” that he did not like was the indiscriminate planting of trees in his local community. He understood how that could decimate the area. I first met Pat in 1984 when he was IFA chair in Leitrim and I held the same position in Meath. At that time in the IFA there was little acceptance of the difficulties of farming in his part of Ireland. He, together with the late Hugh Leddy, changed all that. I vividly remember him outlining that special assistance was needed for disadvantaged and indeed severely handicapped areas. The IFA accepted that point of view and lobbied hard with Government and the EU for the introduction of those schemes. I remember the late Joe Rea taking him to Brussels to lobby for the schemes that are now part and parcel of living and farming in this area and indeed the poorer farming areas of the whole EU. To say they were successful is an understatement.

Leader

When Leader was founded, he immediately saw what it could do for his Leitrim – he oversaw its integration into Leitrim Partnership and Leitrim Development. He gave Tom Lavin unstintingly of his time to make it a success. It was responsible for bringing almost €20m of grant aid to small businesses and community projects in the county that he loved so much.

He took a serious interest in the GAA. He enjoyed football matches very much and understood the benefits of an active football club to a local community and the important part that the GAA plays in Irish society.

Sharp

Pat was recognised as having one of the finest and sharpest business brains in all the organisations he served. He also opened his home as a meeting point to aid those organisations. He was blunt and straight irrespective of who disagreed with him, once it was right for the cause that he was working on behalf of at that time. He was blessed with many qualities which made him a unique individual. He had a steely determination, was a great negotiator and debater, was hardworking, loyal and highly intelligent.

Above all else, he was ultimately blessed to have his wife Mary and three daughters at his side. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.

TC