Tribute to Longford's Louis J Belton: Politician, sportsman, raconteur and dedicated family man

Louis J Belton was a giant of the political landscape in south Longford and the county as a whole for over 20 years. An affable and approachable man, he was well liked by everyone who knew him and highly respected by those he worked alongside.

Louis was born in Kenagh on November 30th 1943 and grew up with his brothers Liam and Paddy and his sister Maureen, in the hub of village life that was the local post office and grocers run by his parents, Louis and Mary.

He enjoyed playing many sports in his childhood and was a noted Gaelic footballer with St Dominic’s NS, St Mel’s College and Kenagh GAA. Part of the Kenagh teams which won numerous titles in the late 50’s and early 60’s, Louis helped Kenagh secure the very first U21 championship organised in Longford, defeating the mighty Granard in 1963.

A common take on his sporting prowess was that while he was accomplished at GAA, his abilities were better suited to Rugby at which he plied his trade with Longford RFC along with a number of the Belton family members over the years.

He also enjoyed playing soccer and attended many Longford Town games, particularly in recent years, taking up residence at the carpark goals in all weather conditions. Indeed, Louis’ love of soccer and rugby saw him fall foul of the GAA’s old Rule 21 which prohibited members partaking in and attending ‘foreign games’.

Louis was a great lover of music of all genre’s, Patsy Cline’s ‘Crazy’ being his favourite number.

When in Louis’ company, he could often be heard to whistle, hum and lilt many a tune when there would be an odd lull in the conversation. But those breaks in conversation didn’t occur too often as Louis was a gifted raconteur, able to hold conversation with people of any background and with a great ability to tell a story and tell it well.

After a brief spell in London in the mid sixties, where he worked in a bookkeeping firm, Louis returned to Ireland where he took up work in the auctioneering trade.

As part of his work, he regularly appeared on the rostrum at Ballymahon Mart, where he had a good relationship with all of the customers of the Mart and showed a canny ability to secure a price that kept both the buyer and seller happy, an achievable aim in theory but a hard practice to bring to fruition!

Caption: 1997: Fine Gael's Denis Naughten and Louis J Belton celebrating at Longford Sports & Leisure Complex following their election from the Longford / Roscommon Constituency to the 28th Dáil

As the 1970’s progressed, Louis was bitten by the political bug, something of an inevitability some might say considering the Belton family’s association with politics since the foundation of the State.

He contested the Local Elections in 1979 in the Ballymahon Area running on the Fine Gael ticket with Packie Kenny, Adie Farrell, Noel Gavin and John Farrell. Following ten counts, Louis secured a seat on Longford County Council. His victory that day along with Independent Michael Brennan, was the first time Kenagh had a resident Councillor since 1960.

On Longford County Council, Louis proved himself to be an astute political operator and a shrewd reader of public opinion.
He went on to retain his seat in 1985, increasing his vote and he worked for a time as parliamentary secretary to Paddy Cooney, Minister for Education.

In 1989, Louis contested the Fine Gael convention for selection to run for a seat in Dáil Éireann.

After a hotly contested battle, Louis won the convention, topping the poll and securing his place in the ticket with Paul McGrath and Brendan McFadden.

The odds were heavily stacked against Fine Gael winning two seats in Longford/Westmeath that year, with three heavyweight Fianna Fáil TD’s in the constituency but Louis’ work on the ground, his affability and his political shrewdness saw him secure over 15% of the vote and a seat in the Dáil along with his colleague Paul McGrath.

Louis spent eight years as a TD for Longford/Westmeath and later, Longford Roscommon while also being elected to Seanad Eireann for a period in between. His campaign slogan “Give Longford a say, Vote Louis J” was particularly apt as Longford was to the fore in all of his contributions to the Dáil.

He was proud of his heritage and roots in Co Longford and was never behind the door in advocating for investment and services in the county.

Many have noted Louis’ self-deprecating humour and his accolade as the ‘Best Dressed man in the Dáil’ but he was able to mix it with some of the biggest political operators of the day and gave many serious reflections on the political issues of the time, something he had the ability to do because of his closeness to the people he represented and his ability to listen to those on the ground.

They are traits that he espoused right up until his retirement following the General Election in 2002 and one’s that everyone involved in politics today can take lessons from.

I was honoured to be asked by Louis to contest the convention to fill his late brother Paddy’s seat on Longford County Council in 2013. Having served something of an apprenticeship with Paddy in the previous number of years campaigning, I knew that I had huge shoes to fill in continuing the public service the Belton brothers had given to our local area over the previous 34 years.

And the task would have been all the more difficult had I not had Louis J as a guiding hand in my formative years on Longford County Council. He was a mentor, not only to me but to other representatives both locally and nationally, and his wit and wisdom could be relied upon to give good advice in the trickiest of situations.

Louis Belton was a politician, a sportsman, a raconteur and a man dedicated to his family. He was witty, insightful, kind and caring. And above all he was a friend. A friend to me, a friend to hundreds if not thousands of others too.

We are unlikely to see his likes again.

Caption: 1989 General Election: Shoulder high on emotion. Fine Gael's Louis Belton, Paddy Cooney and Paul McGrath are on a high. That success made Louis Longford's first Fine Gael based candidate to be elected since General Sean Mac Eoin in 1965 Picture: Joe McDonagh