BRIAN Friel was a "man of powerful intellect, great courage and generosity", President Michael D Higgins said yesterday following the playwright's death.
Friel (86), widely regarded as Ireland's foremost playwright, died at his home in Greencastle, Co Donegal yesterday morning.
The writer was described as "Ireland's Chekhov" for his searing insights into Irish life in several critically acclaimed plays. His work – in particular "Translations", "Philadelphia Here I Come" and "Dancing at Lughnasa" – won praise throughout the world.
Considered one of the best writers never to win a Nobel Prize, Friel was born near Omagh in Co Tyrone but moved to Derry at an early age. After qualifying as a mathematics teacher, he returned to Derry.
In a long life dedicated to his art, Friel’s work focused on issues as diverse as social change and justice. It was his Donegal plays – set in the fictional town of Ballybeg – which brought him most fame.
After giving up teaching to concentrate on writing, Friel moved with his wife, Anne, four daughters and son to live in Muff on the Derry/Donegal border. He eventually settled in a house on the banks of Lough Foyle at Greencastle.
Friel shunned most media requests for interviews, preferring to remain in the background. In 1995, approached by The Irish News on the morning that his great friend Seamus Heaney won the Nobel Prize for Literature, he replied: “I don’t do media interviews” before adding, ”…but I’m pleased for Seamus.”
Leading tributes, President Higgins said Friel was one of the giants of Irish literature and a “great Irishman.”
President Higgins said: “He was a man of powerful intellect, great courage and generosity. These were talents that he delivered with great humour, grit and compassion. His legacy to the Irish people is immense.”
Taoiseach Enda Kenny said the world had lost one of the giants of literature.
“His mythical stories from Ballybeg reached all corners of the world from Dublin to London to Broadway and onto the silver screen,” he said.
Nobel laureate and close friend, John Hume, said he was greatly saddened by news of the writer’s death.
"He was a genius who lived, breathed and walked amongst us," he said.
The playwright’s death also brought tributes from across the political divide. Deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness said he was one of Ireland’s greatest ever writers.
Mr McGuinness said: “Brian was a quiet, unassuming man who made a huge contribution to the arts and his work had universal appeal.”
Sinn Fein president, Gerry Adams said the writer was a humble man and a national treasure. SDLP MP Mark Durkan said Friel’s “ear for human nature” made his drama compelling.
“The human truths to which his plays gave light are authoritative for global audiences while served in his authentic Ulster accent," he said.
Ulster Unionist MLA Leslie Cree said Friel was one of the greatest literary figures ever produced in the north.
"His contribution to the arts was huge," he said.
There were also tributes from the arts world in Northern Ireland. Director of the Lughnasa International Friel festival, Sean Doran, said the playwright was a “beautiful, beautiful man and a great, great writer".
The Lyric Theatre's executive producer, Jimmy Fay, said he was an iconic playwright whose presence would live on in the Lyric.
A book of condolence for the writer has been opened at Derry's Guildhall.
