Jim D'Arcy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

When it comes to millions, I am like the rabbits in Watership Down, in that I cannot count past five, but I know it was many millions of euro. In any event, that was a great deal of money, but Eamon de Buitléar was priceless.

He was known, back to front, upside down and inside out, by every school child in Ireland because of the advent of the overhead projector and film strips. The teachers had great difficulty putting in the film strips and they used to spend most of the lesson trying to get the film strip right. First, it came up back to front, then it came up inside out, then it came upside down, and then, eventually, one got it right and one had the treasure. As the education spokesperson in the Seanad for Fine Gael, his contribution as a one-man environmental lobby, in Ireland and in the schools, over many years was beyond measurement. In addition, he livened up many a Friday afternoon when the teacher said, "Go down to the staff room and get the projector" because if the projector arrived with the light working, one had a great half-hour of a nature lesson and then a discussion followed by the 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. lesson in art in which the children drew the scenes that Eamon de Buitléar presented on his film strip. His contribution to the natural environment and nature studies in schools was beyond compare. The teachers got as much pleasure out of the lessons as the children because they were learning as much. They were starting from scratch as well.

In the case of one stiallscannán, mar a tugadh orthu, when we put it on - one is supposed to prepare lessons but sometimes one went off on the hoof - he introduced Bull Island to me for the first time. It was, in his presentation and mellifluous voice, as exotic as the Aurora Borealis. One was transported to a different world. It was the same with the Burren.

We thought all beach birds were seagulls until he came along and started telling us about waders and oystercatchers. Every year, he would ask "Why does the oystercatcher stand on one leg?" and then pause. Then he would add, "Because if he lifted it, he would fall.", and every year the children would laugh in the same way. He was, as I said, priceless. Ní bheidh a leithéid arís ann.