"Why should we put ourselves out of our way to do anything for posterity? For what has posterity ever done for us?"

"Mr Speaker, I smell a rat; I see him forming in the air and darkening the sky; but I will nip him in the bud."

"Ireland and England are like two sisters; I would have them embrace like one brother."

"The cup of Ireland's misery has been overflowing for centuries and is not yet half full."

"All along the untrodden paths of the future, I can see the footprints of an unseen hand."

"The best way to avoid danger is to meet it plump."

"Half the lies our opponents tell about us are untrue."

"We should silence anyone who opposes the right to freedom of speech."

"The only thing to prevent what's past is to put a stop to it before it happens."