We were sorry to hear of the passing of John Gleeson, President of Dáil Éireann (1993-1997), on March 17.While he was “unorthodox” and “often different” from his political colleagues, Mr Gleeson was a “class act” with an “infectious laugh”, The Irish Times said in its obituary of him.Mr Gleeson was born in Cashel, Co Tipperary, and he entered politics at an early age. He was elected to Dáil Éireann in 1961 for the Tipperary South constituency and remained in the Fine Gael party.A public relations officer with Cork Corporation and Cork County Council, he became Fine Gael chairman in 1961