Tributes are being paid to the former Fine Gael senator Paul Coghlan, following his death.
Mr Coghlan, who was a founding shareholder of Radio Kerry, turned 79 last week.
He was first elected to the Seanad in 1997 and retired from politics in February of 2020.
Killarney’s Paul Coghlan was born in 1944; he was an auctioneer and served on Kerry County Council from 1991 to 1999 and on Killarney Urban District Council from 1985 to 1999.
He was a candidate for Fine Gael in the 1992 general election in Kerry South.
Mr Coghlan stood as a candidate for the Seanad in the following election, contesting the Agricultural Panel, but was unsuccessful. However, he prevailed in 1997, winning a seat on the Industrial and Commercial Panel.
In 2011, then Taoiseach Enda Kenny appointed him Government Chief Whip in the Seanad. He became Leas Cathaoirleach of the Seanad in June 2016.
An Taoiseach and leader of Fine Gael, Leo Varadkar, has expressed his condolences on the death of the former senator, describing him as kind, courteous and hard-working.
The Cathaoirleach of Kerry County Council, Cllr John Francis Flynn says Paul Coghlan was a distinguished politician who had given many long years of service.
He served as president of Killarney Chamber of Tourism and Commerce in 1980; the chamber says he was effective and dedicated and made an enormous contribution to local business and the community.
Cathaoirleach of the Killarney Municipal District, Cllr Niall Kelleher says the former senator’s death has caused great sadness in the town, adding he was a larger-than-life character.
