John and I were comrades going back a long time. A bit like Eamonn McCann’s comment at the funeral, I knew John before I met him; though for me it was through his writing, especially the Teach Yourself Marxism column in the British SW paper. Right back to the early days with the Dublin branch meetings in the upstairs room at the Bachelor Inn, when we would get our hands on a copy of the British paper, almost always I’d go straight to John’s column.

In recent years I got to know John in person. At meetings and rallies I would always listen carefully to what he said in his contributions – bringing all those decades of reading and struggle to making clear and politically-sharp points, he’d set the tone and direction of most discussions.

Like many, wherever John saw me at a meeting or protest he’d be straight over asking if I’d get a copy of the IMR – after we’d exchange cash for the journal, he’d always say “Good man!” often with a gentle hand on my back.

Watching the service yesterday, it was clear to me that John’s was a life well-lived, in the best of our revolutionary socialist tradition. I think there was never a more apt invocation of Joe Hill’s dictum, than at the funeral.

Rest in Power John Molynuex.