Statement on the death of the Former Taoiseach John Bruton
February 6, 2024

It was with profound sadness that I learned this morning of the death of John Bruton. Throughout his life and long political career, John was dedicated and inspiring politician, committed to the flourishing of Ireland, and to a truly democratic Europe. As a committed politician and respected leader John Bruton embodied some of the finest qualities of political leadership, qualities without which offices of state risk losing necessary commitment to, and work for, the common good. John Bruton was a man of two vocations: he was a husband and a father, and a skilled politician, who had the capacity to do justice to both callings. For him being a politician was much more than a job; it was the most authentic way of living out the mystery of his life. He did this while remaining deeply committed to his wife and children.

A man with deep conviction and profound Christian faith, John realised from an early age that the future of Ireland and the future of Europe were inseparable. His work both as government minister and Taoiseach in a very different Ireland, and at a difficult time in our history, as well as his work in the European Union bore witness to what the recently deceased Jacques Delors termed Europe’s soul – a shared sense of values, grounded in a spirituality. Every people and every country need contact with its heart, its soul. In John Bruton we had someone who was a sure guide on that journey.

I wish to express my sympathy to his wife, Finola, and his son, Matthew, his daughters Emily, Juliana and Mary Elizabeth, to his brother, Richard, and his sister, Mary. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam. May he rest in peace.

Dermot Farrell
Archbishop of Dublin