Labhrás Ó Murchú (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Tá an-áthas orm go bhfuil seans againn inniu ár moladh agus ár mbuíochas d'Eamon de Buitléar a chur in iúl maidir leis an saothar a dhein sé dúinn agus don náisiún. Níl aon amhras faoi ná gur duine speisialta a bhí ann. Má fhéachann muid siar ar a shaol agus ar an mhéid oibre a dhein sé, ní h-aon ionadh é go raibh ard-mheas ag muintir na hÉireann air, idir óg agus aosta. Ba Ghael den scoth é ó thaobh na Gaeilge, an ceol agus ó thaobh oidhreachta é freisin. Táimid uilig go mór faoi chomaoin aige de bharr na hoibre a dhein sé. Tagann dhá fhocal chugam nuair a smaoiním ar Eamon, "uaisleacht" agus "dínit". Bhí siad seo i gcónaí le tabhairt faoi deara ann, go pearsanta agus san obair a dhein sé, ar chláir raidió nó ar an teilifís agus agallamh á chur air. Táimid uilig, mar dhaoine agus mar náisiún, go mór faoi chomaoin aige.

It would be true to say that Eamon de Buitléar had many strings to his bow, or to be more musically correct, many buttons to his accordion. It is great to be able to pay tribute to him in Seanad Éireann today. If one looks back on his work as a musician, an independent wildlife film maker, an author and remembers him as a person, it is only right and fitting that this House, which he served so well, should honour him. Indeed, it was a privilege for this House that Eamon de Buitléar was a Member. It is good when we get an opportunity to recall those people who, through their greatness, ability and passion, made a significant contribution to the positive Ireland which we have today.

Many of us are of an age to remember the work Eamon did as a film maker, when we were absolutely glued to the television. It was not like watching "Fair City" or "Coronation Street".

Instead, we watched the richness and wonder of the world around us and the nature that we have here. The pace of life has changed so we often do not observe, perhaps ignore, the wonderful life that is all around us. Eamon de Buitléar brought that wonder right into our sittingrooms. I always thought he must have had great patience. Like David Attenborough, he must have waited hours to get a shot of an animal or bird and had to climb cliffs to get to the action. We had a fascination with what was on the screen and a realisation of what he had to do to capture an image for us.

Without doubt he gave us a love of animals and birds. That is important because often one can ignore the richness of nature here. It is important that young people respect nature, animals and birds but his work was not simply directed at young people. One of his great strengths is that he bridged the generation gap and young and old shared an interest in his films. Nature can be viewed as a cold and clinical subject but he brought it all to life in a manner where one felt that one was present. One also felt his enthusiasm for the subject. That was part of his success as a professional film maker and one could absorb his interest in the action.

I know that RTE paid a glowing tribute to him at the time because of his pioneering work on nature. Before his work we depended on the big picture from the jungles of Africa. Through his work we realised that small animals and birds also had a story and fascination just as good as lions, elephants and so on. Only Eamon de Buitléar could succeed in doing such a job. His work was more than a technical achievement. It was the manner in which he showed the importance of the images that he captured for us.

I shall mention Eamon the musician. We can all remember what Seán Ó Riada achieved in Irish music, particularly his album called Ó Riada sa Gaiety. I shall mention a little story on the matter. Last year a group travelled to Moscow and Seán Ó Sé from Cork, who sang with Ó Riada on the album, also travelled. When Seán Ó Sé arrived at the theatre he was met by a small group of Russians, who did not speak English, but wanted him to listen to their singing. They sang the songs sung by Seán Ó Sé as Gaeilge. Even though they did not have the language they learned the songs phonetically. Interestingly, they learned the songs from a tape, even replicating when Seán Ó Sé took an unusual breath during a song. I wondered how they discovered the music. People might recall Michael O'Riordan who was secretary of the Communist Party at the time. I discovered that when the CD or LP was produced he bought a number of copies, sent them to his friends in Moscow and the music turned up in a library, was rediscovered and sung to Mr. Ó Sé.

Eamon was part of the tradition known as Ceoltóirí Chualann which later became Ceoltóirí Laighean. He was a box player and played the accordion, mouth organ and bodhrán. In many ways he made playing the bodhrán respectable because he played it quietly and did not dominate the music but that was part of his dignity and nobility.

Finally, I believe that Eamon de Buitléar and his contribution will always be remembered. I attended his funeral and could sense the absolute depth of affection that people felt for him. It was infectious. That affection was not just from the people who turned out to pay their respects at the time, it was felt right throughout the country. In years to come, Eamon de Buitléar's name will always feature when we talk about nature, wildlife, music, the Irish language or civilisation. I wish to thank his wife, Lailli, and his family for sharing Eamon with the greater Irish community which was so important. She was with him at all times and encouraged him. His work is being carried on by his family. We do not need monuments of stone; we need monuments of life. No greater tribute can be paid to Eamon de Buitléar than the fact that his family worked with him at all stages and are now carrying on the tradition. Go raibh míle maith agaibh. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam uasal.