TRIBUTES FOR LISTOWEL SOLICITOR PAT ENRIGHT
A ‘FEARLESS’ criminal defence lawyer and cherished member of the legal fraternity in North Kerry is how wellknown solicitor Pat Enright is being remembered by colleagues this week.
Mr Enright’s death on Saturday, after a battle with illness, led to deep shock in Listowel and across a region in which he had been one of the main criminal defence solicitors for many years – working for Lees Solicitors from its Listowel offices.
The town came to a standstill at his funeral as hundreds sympathised with his wife Bríd and children Aoife and Pádraig. Mr Enright is also survived by his parents Con and Elsa, siblings Donal, Siobhan, Neil, Elizabeth, Rosemary and John, nephews, nieces and extended family.
He was also well-known as one of the Fine Gael party’s chief strategists in the constituency and an invaluable part of the election tally team.
Mr Enright was prominent too in drama circles in a town famous for its playwrights and actors, directing and appearing in a number of productions for the Listowel Players in recent times.
Close friend and fellow solicitor Riobard Pierse described the Coolcappa, Co Limerick-native as ‘fearless’ when it came to defending his clients.
“He was an absolutely outstanding criminal lawyer,” Mr Pierse said.
“He would put huge effort into defending anyone finding themselves in difficulty, no matter where they came from.
“And he was quite fearless in doing so. He took on a large range of tough cases over the years and was tenacious in seeing them through to the end.
“I remember one case for instance in which he defended parents who were home-schooling their children and who found themselves accused of ‘non-attendance’, fighting it all the way to the Supreme Court and ultimately succeeding.”
Mr Pierse said Pat Enright never let the competitive nature of the business get in the way of a friendship:
“Even though we were competitors we were also willing to help each other out. There was one time in particular when I needed assistance on a major problem over a weekend and Pat couldn’t have been more helpful,” Mr Pierse recalled.
Former Minister Jimmy Deenihan said Mr Enright was a crucial part of the Fine Gael team in the region. “He was a regular representative of Fine Gael in the media and a very good strategist for the party; very much involved from his time in Young Fine Gael when he was in UCC. He also organised the tally and was a great man to read transfers. His judgement was always valued and I think the esteem in which he was held was evident in the large guard of honour of political and legal colleagues at his removal.”
Requiem Mass for Mr Enright was held at 11.30am on Tuesday in St Mary’s Church, Listowel, amid a large turnout.