Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Thar ceann ghrúpa Shinn Féin, ba mhaith liom fíorfháilte a chur roimh mhuintir Brian Friel anseo inniu agus ár gcuid comhbhróin a chur in iúl dóibh as ucht bás an fhathach fir seo, an laoch i measc laochra ó thaobh na drámaíochta de.

I take this opportunity to offer the collective sympathy of the Sinn Féin group to the family and friends of the esteemed former Senator Brian Friel, a genius and giant of Irish theatre. I feel a bit overwhelmed by the challenge of trying to live up to the rhetoric of previous Senators. One could talk about being upstaged before the final act. Coming in as one of the last speakers it is very difficult to follow some of the wonderful contributions previously made and I commend the Senators who have spoken already.

Brian Friel is a man who needs no introduction; he was a titan of theatre and it is a privilege that he came from these shores and served in this House that we too now serve. While he spent only a short time serving in the Seanad, he served Ireland and its people for decades. In all, Brian Friel penned more than 30 plays, two short story collections and three unpublished and eight published adaptations or versions, most notably from Ibsen, Chekhov and Turgenev. Other speakers have said that also.

I am sure that all Senators in this House have at some stage been influenced or inspired by Friel’s works. That in itself is a testament to the accessibility, power, and calibre of his works. Particular works of Friel have left a deep mark on many people, not only in Ireland but across the globe. His first major success, "Philadelphia Here I Come", is still a timeless piece of drama, especially from an Irish perspective. In itself, it challenged many traditional Irish societal norms of the time. More importantly, it challenged and highlighted the negative effects of certain aspects of Irish society on its people and the difficulties that created in their ability for expression.

For me personally, two of his works stand out, namely, “The Freedom of The City” and “Translations”. The play, "The Freedom of the City" had its genesis in Friel’s own participation in the civil rights march on Bloody Sunday. It was a response to the whitewash Widgery report on Bloody Sunday and it is one of the best dramas to emerge from the conflict in the North. The play was a product of Friel at his most politically engaged period. It was an exposure of the corrupt state authority in the North at the time and was critical of the British establishment vis-à-visthe British army and Widgery tribunal. "Translations", one of Friel’s most celebrated works, is a complex play about language but with many sub-themes running throughout, such as nationalism, republicanism, imperialism, emigration, culture, identity, acceptance, family, love, and many more. It was powerful to me to see how it explored the use of language as an instrument of colonial power. Mar dhuine a labhraíonn Gaeilge ó lá go lá, bhí sé iontach speisialta ar an mbunús.

The real power of Brian Friel’s work was the emotiveness and power of themes and how his work spoke to people. His plays, short stories, and adaptations have a timelessness quality and will endure in a way that only the greatest works of art and literature can endure. Brian Friel is a loss to Ireland, a loss to literature and theatre and a loss to his numerous friends in many fields. It is his family, however, who will miss him most. On behalf of Sinn Féin, I again wish to express my sincere sympathy to his wife Anne and all his family and friends who are with us today. Go dtugfaidh Dia suaimhneas síoraí dó.