Hildegarde Naughton (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I also welcome the Minister to the House. Coming from the west of Ireland, I feel a particular connection to Yeats and am delighted to have the opportunity to speak tonight.

He was, of course, our national poet and regarded as one of the foremost figures of English literature in the 20th century. He was also the first Irish recipient of the Nobel Prize in literature. Later Irish laureates were George Bernard Shaw, Samuel Beckett and Seamus Heaney. As we know, Yeats also served with distinction for two terms as a Member of the Free State Senate.

It is appropriate to remember Yeats, particularly in the lead-up to next year's anniversaries. One of his foremost famous poems, "Easter 1916", probably summarises the feelings of many Irish Nationalists at the time. There was initial shock at the supposed foolhardiness of the Rising, which he had advised against. This is followed by the poem's close, a tribute to all the heroic men and women who participated and brought about a new era in the nation's life.

Some of my colleagues already mentioned the Yeats summer home, Thoor Ballylee, which was regarded by the Nobel laureate, Seamus Heaney, as the most important public building in Ireland. Its close association with Yeats makes it an iconic landmark for the area and for the country, and a resonant site for literary pilgrims across the globe. It is set on the bank of the Streamstown River, a tributary of the Cloone River near the market town of Gort in County Galway.

Today Thoor Ballylee is often referred to as Yeats's tower because in 1916 Yeats fulfilled a long-held dream to establish his own house in the west He bought the tower for just £35 and Yeats and his architect, Professor William A. Scott spent several years restoring it and the associated cottage and outbuildings. It was rechristened as Thoor Ballylee. A verse inscription in stone in the wall celebrates its restoration as well as foretelling its ruin.

From 1921 to 1929, Yeats and his family spent many summers here. Its constant damp made it impractical for winters, but in the summer Yeats's wife, George, was often to be found fishing from the tower. It is possible to drop a line out of the window straight down into the river that runs alongside.

Unfortunately the flooding in 2009 and 2010 extensively damaged the building and it has remained closed until now. This happened at the worst possible time with the country in the midst of the most severe financial crisis since the foundation of the State. Fáilte Ireland previously provided significant funding to Thoor Ballylee and I hope that now the economy has stabilised and tax revenues are again increasing the State will be in a position to make a contribution to its upkeep, as this is a site of enormous international significance.

I thank the Yeats Thoor Ballylee Society for its work in restoring the tower, a gratitude which is shared by Senator Healy Eames. I am delighted to see it being reopened for the 150th anniversary of Yeats's birth. I encourage my colleagues and any citizens listening to this debate to check out the www.yeatsthoorballylee.orgwebsite for a full outline of the unique heritage of Thoor Ballylee and upcoming events.

I join my colleagues in congratulating Senator O'Keeffe on her Trojan work in commemorating Yeats over the past 12 months.