Deputy Tony Gregory died today.

I’m no working class hero.  The closest I came to genuine poverty was when I lived for a time in London in the mid-1990s and I didn’t have enough money to go around.  It left a mark and to this day I worry about money - probably too much.  At the time, I worried about having enough money to pay the rent.  I watched every penny being spent. I walked instead of taking the bus or tube, just so that I would have saved this money. I worried about having enough creche money. I worried about what would happen if things got worse.  Probably, though, I would have been able to think up of something if things got worse.  I have a PhD and at that time, I had prospects for earning money, even if I had none at that particular time.  Tony Gregory worked primarily for people who had no such security cushion.  He was a TD in the North Inner City and I’m willing to bet that this was not the easiest constituency in Ireland.

It was also not fashionable.

It was not fashionable to stand up to heroin peddlers.

Nor was it safe.

It was not fashionable to sit in the middle of the road protesting about the Moore Street traders being moved on.

But he still did it.

So, there is no doubt that the country would be in a much better state if all politicians had so much conviction - irrespective of their particular brand of politics.  Conviction politicians garner all kinds of respect.  In particular in some cases, this respect comes from their political opponents.

The list of people coming forward to say a few words about Tony Gregory’s death include former Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, musician Christy Moore and the traders from Moore street.  A peculiar combination for sure.

Anyway, I guess it goes to show that a working class hero is something to be.