Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Following our statements of appreciation of the life and work of Seamus Heaney in the Dáil last week I am glad the Seanad has set aside time to reflect on the life and work of a truly amazing Irish man. The statements in the Dáil were more than thought provoking. In his tribute the Taoiseach memorably said: "Across the world Seamus Heaney was and is seen not alone as Ireland's better self, but, I believe, its best self possible".

In each of the contributions made last week, the esteem in which all members who contributed held the work of Seamus Heaney was apparent but in addition to this, many of us who are in the Houses of the Oireachtas and across the country and the globe felt a close personal connection with Seamus. This also shone through in the contributions. Like many, both in this Chamber and in the Dáil, I met Seamus Heaney on a number of occasions. Most recently, I had the pleasure of Seamus Heaney's company in Paris when he read his work at the Centre Culturel Irlandais as part of Ireland's Presidency of the European Union. Each person in attendance was honoured to hear him. It was an open air event and, introducing Seamus, I could feel the growing sense of anticipation and excitement among the audience. This large group had gathered to hear the words of the master. When he uttered his first word a calm descended on the audience. There was a palpable sense of anticipation. Seamus was Ireland's supreme cultural ambassador and the respect in which he was held by the academic world, the Irish diaspora and the reader was unparalleled.

I am glad his wife, Marie, is with us today. As Seamus started to recite his poetry, a blackbird emerged and accompanied him during the whole poetry reading event. It was quite extraordinary. I understand something similar happened in Rome. It reminded me of the old Irish tradition where the reciter was always accompanied by a harp but in this instance, it was by a blackbird. As the blackbird has played such a part in Seamus's poetry, it was very fitting. Maybe it was sending us a signal for the future.

When Seamus travelled to Stockholm in 1995 to accept the most prestigious award a writer can receive, we were deeply proud of him. This was a formal recognition of something that was already well-known, namely, that he was a writer of international standing and one of the greatest of our time. So much of Heaney's work was immersed in living things, in heritage, in landscape, in our surroundings and especially in our boglands. His extraordinary talent could also be beautifully simple. The language Seamus used was often the language of the everyday. He painted vivid scenes with often simple words but every word was chosen with the greatest of care and consideration.

His mastery of language was equalled only by his generosity of spirit. He had time for everyone and he gave freely of his talent and his counsel to many aspiring writers, poets and artists and to those of us who simply loved his writing and who delighted in his reading of his work. I saw Seamus communicate with several audiences over the years, especially in my home town of Listowel where he was a regular visitor during writers' week. I saw the connection he had with people, how easy he was with people and how people felt they could approach him with the simplest of requests. That is what really distinguished Seamus so much - that he had that connection with people and people felt so comfortable with him.

Seamus bequeaths a mighty legacy and leaves an immense gap in all our intellectual and artistic lives. With this in mind, I will ask the director of the National Library of Ireland to work with my Department to present a major exhibition on the work of Seamus Heaney in 2015. It is my intention that this exhibition will be one of great significance which captures the extraordinary contribution Seamus Heaney made over his lifetime. It is my hope that when this exhibition is presented, it will be viewed by many people from home and abroad and will contribute to the greatest possible understanding of the man and his work.

I had the pleasure of Seamus Heaney's company and had the honour of introducing him. I have my personal memories of this most private of public men and like many I know some of words by heart. These words will stay with me forever.

Our thoughts remain with his family - with Marie, Michael, Christopher and Catherine Ann. I hope that through the formal statements last week and those this morning that we have, in a small way, communicated to them the extent to which we feel and share the loss of Seamus. Seamus, the husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle, will always be theirs but we thank them for sharing him with us.