[1] He was made a Peace Commissioner in 1983 by the then Fine Gael Minister for Justice, Michael Noonan.

[4] This was part of a broader controversy surrounding racist comments from Fine Gael members in Limerick.

[5] In March 2010, he called for a change to the law which bans selling alcohol on Good Friday and Christmas Day, at a time when a rugby match was due to take place in Limerick city.

[6] Shortly before leaving office in June 2010, he again was the subject of national news when he called for the re-introduction of capital punishment.

[7][8] He left Fine Gael, over the party's failure to select him as a candidate for the 2011 Irish general election.