Longford mourns death of former Fine Gael TD and Senator Louis J Belton

The death occurred, in the care of the excellent staff of Midlands Regional Hospital, Mullingar, on Saturday, November 11, of former Longford Fine Gael TD, Senator and county councillor, Louis J Belton, just a number of weeks short of his 80th birthday.

Born on November 30, 1943, proud Kenagh man Louis was the seventh member of the Belton family to be elected to the Oireachtas.

A great sportsman, Louis loved GAA, rugby and soccer, was a member of Kenagh GAA and Longford rugby clubs and he derived enormous satisfaction from Kenagh’s recent triumph in the Mulleady Group Longford Intermediate Football Championship Final, the club’s first title in the grade in forty years. 

Indeed, he was thrilled to join jubilant Kenagh captain Shane Doyle on the podium as he accepted the Hennessy Cup from County Board Chairperson Albert Cooney. 

Educated at St Dominic’s National School, Kenagh and St Mel’s College, Longford, he worked for a period as a salesman at Ballymahon Mart, he was also a building society employee and a member of Longford County Council, serving  from 1979 to 1999. 

The Belton family are steeped in Fine Gael tradition and Louis was elected to the County Council at his first attempt in 1979. He was elected again in 1985, increasing his first preference vote considerably. 

He served as a member of the general Council of County Councils, the Midland Regional Development Organisation and Longford ACOT committee. He was also a member of Ballymahon Show Society and Ballymahon Drama. 

He was elected to the 26th Dáil  for the Longford–Westmeath constituency following the 1989 general election on Thursday, June 15, securing 6,515 first preference votes and the third of the four seats on offer, making him the first Longford based Fine Gael candidate to be elected since General Sean Mac Eoin in 1965.  

Also elected were Fianna Fáil’s Albert Reynolds and Mary O’Rourke and Belton’s Fine Gael colleague Paul McGrath claimed the fourth seat. 

His electoral slogan was ‘Give Longford a Say Vote Louis J’ and it certainly resonated with the electorate. 

It was a massive breakthrough by Louis as two years earlier Fine Gael suffered an election debacle, and as a first-time general election candidate in a nine person field, and the only native-born Longford person in the contest, he delivered a seat in emphatic style. 

Louis lost his seat at the 1992 general election when contesting the revised Longford–Roscommon constituency.

Louis was subsequently elected to the 20th Seanad Éireann in 1993, when he topped the poll for the Administrative Panel. 

He regained his Dáil seat following the Friday, June 6, 1997 general election as he secured 5,696 first preference votes  but lost it again at the 2002 general election to Mae Sexton of the Progressive Democrats. Also elected in ‘97 were Albert Reynolds, Denis Naughten and Sean Doherty. 

He did not contest the 2007 general election. 

Louis Belton’s late brother Paddy, who died suddenly on Thursday, April 25, 2013,  was also a former county councillor and Mayor of Longford. Paddy was first elected to Longford County Council in 1999. 

‘Decent, harworking and kind’
Paddy Belton remembered by colleagues

“Decent, hardworking and honest” - these were among the many words reiterated by councillors during their tribute to the late Cllr Paddy Belton (FG) whose sudden death last month brought an air of genuine sadness to the council chamber last Wednesday, where this month’s meeting was cancelled as a mark of respect to the popular and much loved local area representative in Kenagh.

Memorial Mass
celebrated in
council chamber

It was a sad and poignant afternoon last Wednesday at council headquarters in Longford town where a special Mass was held to remember the late Cllr Paddy Belton (FG) who died suddenly last month at the age of 68.

The current Longford County Council Cathaoirleach Colm Murray, who was 24 at the time, was co-opted to take the late Paddy Belton’s seat in 2013, before he was subsequently elected to the local authority in 2014. And as he accepted the Cathaoirleach’s chain of office last June, he paid tribute to Louis J and Paddy Belton. 

“When someone gets involved in the political arena, usually there is a particular issue or number of issues that peak a person's interest or they are influenced by the deeds and actions of others. When I first became interested in politics at secondary school back in the early 2000’s, the main issues were education and healthcare provision (still with us to a large extent today) and my interest was definitely influenced by my national and local representatives at the time, Louis J and Paddy Belton,” outlined Cllr Murray.

Predeceased by his brothers Liam and Paddy, the late Louis J is sadly missed by his loving partner Anita Kelly, sister Maureen, brother-in-law Val, his godmother Peggy, nieces, nephews, grandnieces, grandnephews, cousins and his many good friends. 

Reposing this Wednesday afternoon, November 15 in Our Lady's Manor Nursing home from 3pm until 7pm. Funeral Mass on Thursday, November 16 at 11am in St Dominic's Church Kenagh followed by cremation in Lakelands Crematorium Cavan.

Rest in Peace.