Susan O'Keeffe (Labour) | Oireachtas source

He loved to visit, to read and to talk to the students who came and still come from around the world to learn about Yeats and to enjoy contemporary poetry. He generously signed books for people, worrying in recent years that the shake in his hand from his illness would stop him from doing so, but continuing to do so because he knew how much it meant to people.

His generosity of time, inspiration, smile and handshake was enormous. The following is a piece which he wrote for the launch of Yeats Day in Sligo last year, which has not yet been published:

When Marie and I went there [he was talking about Thoor Ballylee] one bright summer morning two men were working at the top of the tower at the top of the narrow winding stair out on the roof replacing damaged slates. We asked them if we could take a couple of fragments of the old sea-greens and they had no objections. So from that moment on I had a token that kept me in personal touch with William Butler.

His great love was for Marie. Their love for each other and their children and grandchildren was always visible and tangible. Our thoughts are with them and with his close friends. We hope that today our words will help to fill the emptiness for them in a tiny way. It should be remembered that on the day before his funeral, 81,000 people attending a football match in Croke Park stood and applauded a poet. Perhaps we in Ireland do know that poets and poetry have a special place in our hearts. Seamus Heaney the most special of all.