THE retirement of Eddie Lowey from Legislative Council was marked in a special occasion.
Mr Lowey, who’s 75 years old, spent 38 years in Tynwald.
The President of Tynwald Clare Christian and Speaker of the House of Keys Steve Rodan hosted a reception in the members’ room where the former Rushen MHK and keen football fan was presented with a clock set in a piece of wood engraved with the final words he spoke in Tynwald, borrowed from TE Brown:
‘And the years do come
‘And the years do go
‘And when you look back
‘It’s all like a puff
‘Happy and over and short enough’
Mr Rodan thanked him on behalf of the House of Keys for Mr Lowey’s seven years of service on the Rushen bench in the company of Sir Miles Walker and Noel Cringle.
He said Mr Lowey had made many friends both within Tynwald and, more widely, on the international stage.
He added that whenever members travelled abroad and mentioned they were from the Isle of Man many people would mention Mr Lowey, always in the fondest of terms.
Mr Rodan also commented on the sizeable number of well-wishers, in particular a strong showing by members of his family, who had gathered to pay tribute.
Mrs Christian referred to the three ‘Fs’: family, football and ‘philanthropy’, noting the strong support Mr Lowey enjoyed from his family, his love of football, especially his support for the game in the Isle of Man, and his philanthropic activities in his capacity as a trustee of the Lord Cockfield Memorial Trust.
Mr Lowey’s contribution to the ‘beautiful game’ in the island was further recognised when MHKs Graham Cregeen, Tim Crookall, Geoff Corkish, David Quirk and Juan Watterson presented him with a referee’s shirt.
In response Mr Lowey expressed his gratitude to his colleagues and the staff of Tynwald and went on to express his thanks to his family for their unstinting support throughout his career before cutting a celebratory cake that marked his retirement but the return of many of those present to work.
During his farewell speech in Tynwald, Mr Lowey urged members to carry on working well for the island because his pension depended on it.
David Callister, who joined LegCo in 2008, also stood down. In Tynwald he gave a speech of thanks to Tynwald, and recalled describing MLCs as ‘toby jugs’ when he began reporting proceedings for a radio station. He joined LegCo to try to change the law to make it democratically elected. However, he was unable to come up with a proposal that enough members would back.