Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim pardún as a bheith déanach. Bhíos thuas sa Mater. Bhí check-up bliantúil agam.Ba mhaith liom fáilte is fiche a chur roimh Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh agus é sa Seanad inniu. Tá náire orm, go háirithe mar Chiarraíoch, nach bhfuil ach Gaeilge bhriste agam. Bainim triail as mo chuid Gaeilge chomh minic agus is féidir liom. One of the reasons people like me love Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh is that he understands that not everybody has Gaeilge líofa and he encourages us to use what we can. As a Kerryman, I am ashamed of the Irish I have. Níl an cleachtadh agam. I am not keeping it up. Every now and again, I make my mind up to improve my Irish. When my children were going to school, we used to speak Irish at the table as much as we could. Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh has made the Irish language attractive and appealing to people who do not have Irish but would like to have it. Down through the decades, we have had a lot of coercion in relation to the teaching of Irish. Perhaps there was too much pressure on people. Many of my former colleagues in school would say that the manner in which Irish was taught to them meant they did not learn a love of the language. Regrettably, there is a certain validity to that argument.

Is fear cáiliúil agus spóirtúil é Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh. Go háirithe, is fear na ndaoine é. He is a people's person. I will not labour this point. I was late for this debate because I had an unavoidable medical appointment. I think Mr. Ó Muircheartaigh has done more for the Irish language than many professors, scholars and experts. Regardless of whether he is speaking in Irish or in English, he speaks the language of the people. When he is commentating on a game or talking about how to make a ham sandwich, as mentioned by Senator Mullen, he has an appeal and people take to that. I had the privilege of being ar an ardán leis i Lios Tuathail ar Lá Fhéile Pádraig. We shared a platform in Listowel last week. Mr. Ó Muircheartaigh is always willing to come when he is called. Many people are called and do not turn up, but Mr. Ó Muircheartaigh always turns up and it is appreciated. Mícheál O'Hehir was famously the voice of Gaelic football at one time. There is no doubt that Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh is the voice of Gaelic football and a living successor to Mícheál O'Hehir. He is totally unique in his own way. As a Kerryman, I am proud to be able to be here in the Seanad. I am ashamed of my Irish, but I am certainly proud of Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh.