Dublin, 19 May 2011: European Movement Ireland (EM Ireland) would like to extend its condolences to the family and friends of former Taoiseach and founding member of European Movement Ireland, Dr Garret Fitzgerald, who sadly passed away this morning.

A committed European, Dr Fitzgerald made invaluable contributions to the work of European Movement Ireland for over five decades. Initially as a Founding Member of the organisation and later through his role as Honorary President and as an active member of EM Ireland’s Advisory Council, his wisdom, insight, knowledge and passion for Europe helped guide the work of the Movement for over fifty seven years.

According to EM Ireland Chairperson Maurice Pratt, “Garret was a leading member of our organisation whose vision, drive and integrity was an inspiration to all our members, particularly our younger members. His belief in the importance of Ireland’s place at the heart of Europe remained unwavering throughout his life and he worked tirelessly to achieve the objectives which European Movement Ireland was founded upon. Garret will be sorely missed and I would like to express our deepest sympathies to his family and friends.”
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Note
A founding member of European Movement Ireland, Dr Fitzgerald was one of the seven signatories of the organisation’s Articles of Association in 1954. Along with Donal O’Sullivan, Louis P F Smith, Denis Corboy, George J Colley, Declan Costello, and Sean J Healy, Dr Fitzgerald laid the first stone towards paving Ireland’s way to full EU membership.