There was sympathy on the streets of Kilkenny for the outgoing European Union Commissioner but also a sense that his resignation was inevitable following the events of recent days.
Phil Hogan entered public life when he was co-opted onto the Kilkenny County Council seat held by his late father in 1982, and subsequently sat in the Seanad before being elected to the Dáil in 1989.
He served as a Minister of State in the John Bruton-led "rainbow coalition" from 1994 until his resignation in 1995 after a budget leak from his department, but held his Dáil seat throughout the years on the backbenches until his appointment as Minister for the Environment when Fine Gael and Labour swept to power in 2011.
The former councillor remained a regular presence in the Carlow-Kilkenny constituency during that time, and often returned on visits even after his elevation to the European Commission in 2014.
Long-time ally and himself a former councillor and senator, Pat O'Neill, said today that Mr Hogan will be missed: "I'm disappointed for Phil personally, for his family, for the people of Kilkenny and the people of Ireland," he told RTÉ News today, pointing out that it was Phil Hogan who personally approached him to run for the council in 2003.
"He did a lot for Carlow-Kilkenny. He made sure there was a major extension put onto the hospital here, the army barracks was saved, it was in danger of being closed and now there's over 600 army people on base at Stephen's Barracks in Kilkenny. He invested a lot here in tourism... Phil was very good for this constituency."
Mr O'Neill said he's "worried" about the upcoming Brexit talks, following the departure of Phil Hogan from that portfolio.
One woman shopping at the Kilkenny retail park said "he had to do it [resign]" even though "we needed him there" at the moment.
"But he had to go." Asked if his resignation was inevitable after the last week, she said: "It was, yes."
Another man doing his shopping said Phil Hogan had done a lot for the region, but he had "fallen on his sword to a certain extent".
At the Thursday market on the parade in Kilkenny, some people were shopping among the stalls including the Speltbakers stall for fresh bread products.
"It's a pity to see 40 years of a career going down like that, but you make your mistakes and you live by them," proprietor Josephine Plettenberg said.
When asked if he will be missed, she answered: "Everyone's missed, aren't they? Maybe it's another opportunity for new blood going up, it depends on who will take over, I think. I think everyone's replaceable, aren't they?
"I don't know, it's up to Ursula von der Leyen to find a new commissioner and up to the Government to propose who will go up next. Everyone's missed, but everyone's replaceable."
