Seanad debates

Wednesday, 27 January 2016

Death of Former Member: Expressions of Sympathy

 

10:30 am

Photo of Maurice CumminsMaurice Cummins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am privileged to lead the tributes to the late Brian Friel, teacher, storyteller, playwright and Senator. I would like to extend a warm welcome to the extended Friel family, especially to Brian's grandchildren who have made the trip from Donegal in his honour.

The tributes to Brian on his passing were wide and varied. He was praised and eulogised by many, both here in Ireland and abroad. He was described as a towering figure of stage and cultural life of this island. Living quietly in Donegal, however, Brian was a quiet, soft spoken man who shied away from the limelight and let his writing speak for him. Part of the first generation in Ireland to grow up with a new Border facing it, the Border came to play a significant part in Brian's life. Crossing it regularly, it became a focal point of his home, work, leisure and life.

Brian was a prolific writer and wrote over 30 plays in all. "Philadelphia Here I Come", "Dancing at Lughnasa", "Lovers" and "Aristocrats" looked at familiar topics such as poverty, emigration, family relationships and social change in Irish society. He also dipped his toe into political themes in dramas such as "The Mundy Scheme", "Translations" and "The Freedom of the City". Brian shared the same alma materof St. Columb's College in Derry as Seamus Heaney, another former eminent Senator. Both of them distinguished themselves on the world stage, gave exceptional pride to the rest of us and bolstered Ireland's reputation as a great literary nation.

One of the nicest testaments to Brian's character I have read is that having followed his father's footsteps into teaching and years after leaving teaching to become a full-time writer, he continued to inquire of his former pupils and their educational development, particularly their progress in the literary field. It is clear among all the great tributes and praise heaped upon Brian for his literary work that his home in Donegal, his leisure as a fisherman and his love for his family were the greatest works of his life. I was delighted to see last week that a trust has been established to preserve the homestead of Brian's grandparents in Glenties in Donegal. It is fitting that his daughter, Mary, is involved and I eagerly await a visit to the Brian Friel centre once it is established.

Ultimately, Brian was a private man. The following quote from his self-portrait gives an insight into modern Ireland's leading playwright:

I am married, have five children, live in the country, smoke too much, fish a bit, read a lot, worry a lot, get involved in sporadic causes and invariably regret the involvement, and hope that between now and my death I will have acquired a religion, a philosophy, a sense of life that will make the end less frightening than it appears to me at this moment.

I hope he did indeed find an adequate version of all three.

I will finish by extending my condolences to his wife, Anne, his children, his grandchildren and his many friends.I thank all those involved, especially those who travelled from County Donegal to join us in the House today. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.

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