Freda Rountree, who died on February 6th, aged 45, was chairperson of the Heritage Council. Her appointment in 1995 was a recognition of her ability to inspire confidence, and to achieve harmony amongst many, often disparate, interests.
Such was the breadth and responsibility of the newly-established, and politically-independent council, that this ability was essential. Freda Rountree (nee Barber) grew up on the family farm in Co Offaly. She graduated from Trinity College, Dublin, with a degree in sociology and politics. Subsequently, she spent 10 years running a sawmill in north Leitrim, and started her own tree nursery near Birr, Co Offaly in 1987. There she grew oak, ash, sycamore and beech from seed. The integrity of approach which she brought to the Heritage Council inspired those around her. It led to a growing respect for the achievements of a very new organisation, whose mandate was to promote interest, knowledge and pride in the national heritage, and to facilitate public appreciation and enjoyment of it.
One need only read the achievements listed in the annual reports of the organisation she built, or refer to the understated way in which she provided forewords for council publications, to see the effectiveness of her approach.
Anyone who has heard the way in which she spoke at the many public engagements she attended on the council's behalf knows just how persuasive she was. Her influence extended to the people and communities of Ireland in a way in which not even she could have expected. A recent radio interview produced a phenomenal response from the public.
Individuals and groups wanted, and often demanded, her involvement. They wanted to feel the commitment which was evident in all her activities. They sensed that she appreciated when others needed to talk and that she truly knew how to listen.
Friends from her time as chairperson of Crann (1993-1995), the broadleaf tree organisation, pay tribute to her drive as well as to her listening skills.
How else could she ultimately have been a key player in persuading government, corporate sponsors and other interests to commit, as recently as last December, in excess of £4 million to a millennium woodland proposal? All of her work emphasised the importance of people and their communities, and the need for local involvement in decision-making, whether it was preserving local properties, or exploring the potential for making walking routes or gardens for all to enjoy out of abandoned railway lines. There was no doubt in her mind whose heritage she was dealing with.
She saw that much of the responsibility for that heritage had been taken away from communities. They had become disenfranchised, in many cases by well-meaning experts.
She encouraged dialogue as a means of resolving such issues and set about the task of returning that responsibility with a determination and detailed knowledge that caused a few experts to inhale deeply.
Her vision, her commitment and her knowledge were profound.
These characteristics led to an independent nature which could recognise and strive for change when it was needed.
Yet her approach to achieving that change was not the traditional method of taking away responsibility and rebuilding from scratch.
Working with all interested parties, she encouraged them to reach agreement on the need for change and on the means to achieve it. She thus influenced the activities of many individuals, groups and agencies.
Her circle of friends and the commitment she showed to working at community level, not only in her native Offaly, but throughout Ireland, will ensure her influence continues.
Predeceased by her husband, Aidan, she is survived by her daughter, Catherine, her mother, sisters, brother and grandson.
Freda Rountree: born 1954; died February, 2000