Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Tá an náisiún fós faoi bhrón de dheasca bás Seamus Heaney. Déanaim comhbhrón lena bhean Marie agus a chlann, Michael, Christopher agus Catherine Anne. File den scoth, gan amhras ab ea Seamus Heaney agus bhí cliú agus cáil air ar fud an domhain. Fear mór grámhar i ngach aon tslí a bhí ann. Bhí sé cineálta agus lách agus thug sé cabhair agus tacaíocht do a lán daoine, go háirithe filí na tíre seo. Cheap sé go raibh dualgas poiblí air seirbhís a thabhairt don phobal i gcoitinne agus don fhilíocht go háirithe.

There is no doubt that the death of Seamus Heaney has left a large void for all of us, but that void is very painful indeed for his wife, Marie, his children, Michael, Christopher and Catherine, and his close friends, Susan and Ciaran, who are with us today. We have lost our national poet, but they have lost a loving husband and father. I join the Taoiseach and the Minister, Deputy Quinn, by expressing on behalf of my party our deepest sympathy to you. I hope that the very happy memories that you shared together and the wonderful tributes that have been paid to Seamus will sustain you in the weeks, months and years head.

His passing was spoken about all over the world. There was genuine sadness felt by all who knew him and by all who loved his beautiful poetry and prose. These were heartfelt and genuine tributes, as people were touched by his contribution to humanity through his poetry and writings. He touched many millions of people with his words over many decades and his passing leaves an enormous gap in our lives, not just on this island, but throughout the world. His fellow poets in particular feel that loss. Theo Dorgan wrote that poetry flowed into Heaney and through him, rather than being created.

In preparation for this address, I was anxious to ascertain the views of the poets of Ireland after the loss of Seamus Heaney. I spoke with a colleague and friend in Cork, a poet called Thomas McCarthy. When he wrote back to me, he stated that the poets of Ireland were bereft. Some of us from outside the poetry world might not have this sense, but they are bereft. He went on to state that, not only had the greatest Irish poet since W.B. Yeats passed away, but a great, towering beech tree, a great nurturing Ulster presence, had been taken from us. He stated that, from the very beginning, Seamus seemed to have been touched by fame. It accompanied him everywhere. Whenever he entered a room or lecture theatre, excited anticipation rose.

It was a genuine belief across all poets that one met and that one has spoken to since his death that poems such as Mid-Term Break, Follower, The Tollund Man and the great 1984 sequence Station Island will ensure that he will be remembered as long as poetry is recited. Most poets will agree that, unlike themselves, his poetic immortality is assured.

What has also emerged about him among his fellow poets was his extraordinary kindness to many poets who were on the way up or were in difficulty in life. He was the eldest child in a farming family. That background may be a clue to understanding how such a famous, busy and put-upon writer could help so many other writers. Thomas McCarthy, who has written novels about politicians and is very close to well known politicians in Waterford, Jackie Fahey being one, told me that he was a bit like Jackie Fahey among the poets, in that he minded them. He answered every letter, returned every telephone call and tried to fulfil every request to attend another poet's book launch or reading. He wore himself out helping other poets and artists because he had a profound sense of public duty. He summed this up to Thomas McCarthy by stating that, when one had a great harvest, one had to share it with the neighbours. He leveraged his own fame to enhance the status of other poets internationally, particularly in the US, by supporting them in creating their own marks through their writings when some of them may have felt vulnerable or isolated as they moved into a new world. He was a great ally and a great advocate for Ireland's interests in literature and across the board. He was very much in the mould of W.B. Yeats and Dubhghlas de hÍde in that regard.

It is fair to say that the conflict on the island of Ireland challenged him as a poet and an Ulsterman who was conscious of what was going on around him. Conflict scenarios present unique challenges to poets. It was not easy for him. His poetry highlights and mourns the needless loss of many lives and neighbours. Colm Tóibín poetically wrote: "In a time of burnings and bombings Seamus Heaney used poetry to offer an alternative world." Seamus Heaney wrote in his poem, Terminus: "Two buckets were easier carried than one. I grew up in between."

From the phase of his poetry dealing with the North, one gets a sense of wrestling with the issues - divided tribal loyalties to different communities and endeavouring to walk a path through. More than most, he captured the emerging hope that the peace process brought to the island of Ireland and to its people.

He was clear about his own background and where he came from. He was included in a book on contemporary British poetry, and wrote an open letter stating:

My passport's green.

No glass of ours was ever raised

To toast the Queen.

Yet, when Queen Elizabeth II made her historic visit to Ireland, Heaney spoke about how delighted he was to be sitting at the table to welcome her on that historic occasion.

The Cure at Troyis the iconic poem on the emergence of the peace process, which Heaney dedicated to the victims of the Omagh bombing:

History says, Don't hope

On this side of the grave,

But then, once in a lifetime

The longed-for tidal wave

Of justice can rise up

And hope and history rhyme.

He captured that incredible sense of hope we all experienced as practising politicians, that maybe something was dawning. For the first time in our lives we could comprehend a new era concerning two sets of relationships on the island of Ireland.

I attended Seamus's funeral and we were all struck by the absolute simplicity and creativity that surrounded that ceremony. As the Taoiseach said, there was also a strong familial touch and the constant reminder that he was a father and a husband. Amidst the various celebrities from the artistic and political worlds, that came across particularly strongly. His friend, Paul Muldoon, spoke eloquently and articulated a trait that was ultimately one of the reasons Seamus was so popular and so loved. It was that lack of self importance that was part of his demeanour and the manner of his bearing.

Seamus Heaney's legacy will be enduring. I spoke at the Merriman School, of which he was patron, just a week or two before he passed away. I was using the argument that, through poetry and the arts, we could do an awful lot more in terms of bridging North and South. Heaney's poetry is on the school curriculum, both North and South. One of the great legacies of his life is that his work will be there for generations of students to enjoy and engage with in the years to come.

The poet, Tom McCarthy, summed up the legacy that Heaney bequeaths to us:

The poets of Ireland can only console ourselves now by following the instructions embodied in his life. Even in situations of bitterness and conflict there is always room for the generous act, for the belief in our neighbours, and an untoppled belief in Ireland.

That was Seamus Heaney's life.

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