Liam Ó Laidhin, who has died aged 83, spent almost 50 years in the service of Irish education.
Described by former minister for education, Gemma Hussey, as "a most erect, correct and impressive man", he became secretary of the Department of Education in 1979 and was later chairman of the Higher Education Authority.
As secretary of the Department, he served under six ministers including Charles Haughey, who as taoiseach in 1982 briefly held the education portfolio. At a time when fiscal rectitude held sway, Liam Ó Laidhin found himself constantly defending his Department's budget.
He was born on October 9th, 1919, in Ballyhimikin, Ladysbridge, Co Cork, the eldest of the six children of Thomas Lane and his wife Ellen (née Dunne). He was educated at Ladysbridge National School and at Midleton CBS.
He cycled to and from Midleton each day, a round trip of 20 miles, and did his homework by candlelight. As the eldest son, he helped with the work on the family farm.
He entered the Department of Education as a clerical officer in 1939 and served as private secretary to two ministers, Tomás Ó Deirg and Richard Mulcahy. He studied by night at University College, Dublin, where he secured a Bachelor of Commerce degree.
He worked in a wide range of departmental sections, serving as principal officer of the primary and secondary branches, in addition to headquarters and personnel, before being appointed assistant secretary in September 1974. Five years later, he succeeded Dominic Ó Laoghaire as secretary.
The state of the public finances deteriorated between 1979 and 1981 and all departments were affected when cutbacks became the order of the day. The cuts caused serious unrest among teachers in the latter part of 1980 and a review body to examine teachers' pay was established. Liam Ó Laidhin was called on to chair the negotiations that followed.
In August 1980 a departmental circular, raising the school entry age, was issued. This caused public uproar and the then minister, John Boland, was forced to withdraw it.
In late 1982, the Fianna Fáil minister for finance, Ray MacSharry, announced drastic cuts in the Book of Estimates. Although Fianna Fáil was out of office by the time the budget was introduced, the Fine Gael/Labour government felt obliged to adhere to the estimates.
School transport charges were announced by Gemma Hussey in December 1982. This led to widespread public protests as did the cuts in the allocation for remedial teachers announced in January 1983. Ms Hussey credited Liam Ó Laidhin with a "tour de force" at a meeting with Department of Finance officials for extracting a £1 million concession on school transport charges.
Nevertheless, the cuts continued, and among the measures forced on the Department of Education was the withdrawal of medical cards from third-level students in January 1984.
The spending cuts, however, did not completely overshadow Liam Ó Laidhin's term as departmental secretary. In 1980 the first White Paper on educational development was published. In January 1982 he signed the circular that formally ended corporal punishment in Irish schools.
He was later closely involved in the process that led to the introduction of the school report system. In 1983, despite his initial reservations, he threw his weight behind the Programme for Action in Education, which formed the basis of the 1984 Green Paper on partners in education. In 1984 also the Curriculum and Examination Board was established. Responsible for the development of curricular policy at both primary and secondary level, it was later reconstituted as the National Council for Curriculum and assessment.
Liam Ó Laidhin retired in October 1984. Gemma Hussey wrote of his farewell speech, "it had a certain old-world charm when he spoke about his roots in rural Cork, just beside Shanagarry. He has been an upright, solid and loyal civil servant."
Single-minded and conscientious, Liam Ó Laidhin was a civil servant of the old school. His duty, as he saw it, lay in conservation and implementation. The State could do so much, but self-sufficiency and personal responsibility on the part of students and parents were essential to a good education system.
Through his association with both the Council of Europe and UNESCO, he represented Ireland at many international conferences. Following his retirement from the Department of Education, he was appointed chairman of the Higher Education Authority which position he held for five years.
Liam Ó Laidhin had a life-long interest in Gaelic games and for a time played hurling for the civil service GAA club. His other interests included the Irish language and literature as well as photography and fishing.
In 1949 he married Máire Ní Rinn, who predeceased him in 1996. He is survived by his son, Barry, by his brothers, Michael and Richard, and sister, Esther.
Liam Ó Laidhin: born October 9th, 1919; died November 16th, 2002