Lisdoonvarna mourns poet, artist and defender of the Burren

Sadness enveloped north Co Clare and beyond 10 days ago, as news spread of the death of Cyril O Ceirin after a short illness. He was a poet, author, artist, publisher and environmentalist. The love Cyril held for Lisdoonvarna and the Burren was reciprocated by hundreds who turned out to mourn his passing and sympathise with his wife, Kit, and his sons, Tadhg and Eoghan, last Sunday week.

Father John O'Donoghue described to the funeral congregation how Cyril lived "five lives in one" and the church echoed to the music of some of the State's most renowned musicians.

Long-time friend Gabriel Casey described Cyril as "the most amazing man I ever knew, in terms of his compassion for others and his passion for life ". Born in Dublin in 1934, Cyril's love for his father's home place of Lisdoonvarna grew from his annual summer visits though he did not settle there until 1988. Having studied at UCD, he went to South Africa where he worked as a miner. There, he met his wife, Kit, and had his first success as a writer. After six years, he returned to Ireland to finish his studies. He taught at Mungret College and at Presentation Convent, Limerick.

His literary partnership with Kit proved highly successful as works such as Wild and Free (1978); Seadna Glendale (1989) and the biographical dictionary, Women of Ireland (1996), firmly established their reputations.

Poet and friend John Doorty, with whom he formed Rathbane Publishing, said he feels it a great honour and privilege to have worked with the O Ceirins.

Highlighting Cyril's passion for the Irish language, Mr Doorty said his informal classes inspired a lot of people. Articulating his love of the Burren in The Outlandish World of the Burren (1998), Cyril wrote: "It looks as if it were the first land God made: It is in fact probably the youngest landscape in Europe." For the past eight years, as a founder member of the Burren Action Group, he campaigned against the interpretative centre at Mullaghmore. According to Gabriel Casey: "Along with Kit, Cyril sacrificed a huge slice of his life in the campaign. In the first two years, the going was really tough where there was a huge move to marginalise the group. They held the fort, though it took its toll physically on the two.

"We miss Cyril terribly, he is a huge loss to the community which benefited from all the energies that he brought. We can feel him very much around still, which will give all of us strength."