Ruair� has four brothers and one sister, and studied architecture at UCD. He initially worked as a public housing architect for local authority housing and, having become involved in politics during the student movement in the 1960s, was elected to D�il Eireann in 1977. Ruair� has held a variety of ministerial positions, and is currently Labour's Enterprise, Trade & Employment spokesperson.

Ruair� is married to Liz Allman and lives in Sandymount. He has three children, S�ne, Malach� and Conan, and three grandchildren.

Ois�n has five siblings, and studied law in UCD, and at the LSE in London.

He qualified as a barrister in 1992, and was previously chairman of the Labour Lawyers' Group. Ois�n is married to Elva Mulchrone, and they have three children, aged seven, three and one. He was elected to Dublin City Council in 2004, and is running as a Labour candidate in this year's general election in the Dun Laoghaire constituency. www. ois�nquinn. ie.

Ois�n on Ruair� Ruair� is my dad Lochlann's brother, and our whole family is very close.

We've always come together every August for a holiday in Connemara, and Ruair� was always the uncle on the beach building amazing castles.

If we were having a family meal, within minutes cartoons would be getting passed around of various people in unflattering poses. I think the imaginative side of things was probably part of Ruair�'s skills as an architect, and that was really what struck me most about him when I was a child. Politics was just his job, although I remember the air of excitement around election time. I was in boarding school when the elections of 1982 happened, and that was when I realised he was involved in quite an important situation.

As I got older, and was getting into politics, what I remember most is the late-night family dinners in Connemara, which would go on all night. We'd debate everything from Africa and Eastern Europe to liberal issues in Ireland, and there would be endless arguments about Irish history as well, and even Ruair� would have to fight to get his say in. You could leave at 3am, safe in the knowledge that there'd still be a couple of stragglers there at breakfast time teasing out what had really happened in 1916.

I'm really proud of the contribution Ruair� has made in politics, particularly from 1991 on, when a lot of legislative reform came about that made a big difference to people's dayto-day lives, such as decriminalisation of homosexuality and addressing inequality in the workplace. These are things we take for granted now, and Ruair� was at the heart of taking those debates forward. He was never in politics for the sake of being in power - it was all about using power to bring about change for the better and social progress. You have to have passion and determination, and a vision at the heart of it, and Ruair� has all of that.

Having Ruair� as my uncle has been an inspiration in my own career, and he was always very good with advice.

You wouldn't believe the passion he has for his family, and he's at the heart of a loving extended family that's very together, and it makes me feel very grounded. There's no greater deference shown to him - everyone in the family can still be slagged.

Ruair� on Ois�n I can remember when Ois�n was born in 1968, because my brother Lochlann and his family were living in London.

They came back when Ois�n was 18 months old, and he was quickly followed by three brothers and two sisters - a formidable team, not known for their reticence. He was great fun as a child, and a good participator who always got involved.

He really started studying law at second level, because his passion was for debating, and he used to mitch from school on occasion and come to the Four Courts and spend time there.

He was on the debating circuit at college, and I remember going to some of his debates at UCD.

Ois�n has always been a great help at election times, from the time he was old enough to deliver a leaflet. In his case, I think he probably volunteered, but I think some of his brothers were shanghai-ed. They were all great though. A catch-cry was, "Let me finish!" I wasn't surprised when he went into law, because of his whole orientation towards debating and, having been Minister for Labour and being involved in labour law reform, I was delighted when he went off to the LSE and took an interest in international labour law, and the vindication of workers' rights. Ois�n has been a champion of rights for immigrant workers, and I was immensely proud of him because he was using his skills to advance a set of values I shared.

Ois�n was a very fine athlete and passionate cyclist, and I can remember being challenged to a 5km race by him and some of the other younger family members on holidays.

I was knackered after it, but I was determined not to let myself down in front of these 12- and 14-year-olds. His real passion is Arsenal, which I don't share, as I don't really follow soccer.

I'm delighted he is following me into politics, but only because it's what he really wants to do. I don't believe in dynastic politics, because I've seen people come to Leinster House because they think it's the right thing for their parents, rather than for themselves. When Ois�n told me he was thinking of running for local election some years ago, I told him to be sure of his decision, because it required commitment. You can get an introduction by virtue of having a name, but to get the vote to prove yourself, and I have no doubt Ois�n will do that, because he's very caring, and is strongly determined to affect change and bring about a healthy society.