David Norris' 36-year Seanad career ends with tributes.. and two boxes of teacakes

Green Party Senator Róisín Garvey described Norris first being elected as a 'breath of fresh air in politics'

Senator David Norris on his last day at the Seanad after 36 years. Picture: Maxwells

A 36-year career in the Seanad ended with two boxes of teacakes, tributes and a smiling David Norris, as the country's longest-serving senator departs the political stage.

Best known for his 15-year campaign to overturn Ireland’s archaic laws which criminalised homosexual acts, the firebrand senator had to fight tooth-and-nail through the Irish and European legal systems to topple the laws.