Stephen Devaney died last Tuesday night (31 August) and was buried today (3 September) in Shanganagh Cemetry, Co. Dublin.

Stephen was 62 years old.

He is remembered by us in Friends of the Irish Environment  in particular for his contribution to Irish Environmental Non-Governmental Organisations at national level for many years. His legal work on Carrickmines Castle was very considerable for the cases taken by Dominic Dunne, Gordon Lucas and Mici Mullcreevy, cases which led to a redrafting of the Irish National Monuments Acts.

A qualified barrister, Stephen was generous with his assistance, principled and hard working. He was involved in protecting Tara and did extensive planning work for the Dun Laoghaire Association of An Taisce, raising issues of national importance in and providing the European Commission with detailed dossiers illustrating systematic failures in the transposition and implementation of European environmental law.

He was very special in his sensitivity to the built heritage and his vision of law as a means of protecting it. Deeply committed and hard working, he was a personal inspiration through his individual – and often difficult – quest to protect our national heritage. .

Our loss is all the greater because we have a shortage of men like Stephen both in Ireland generally and in the environmental movement. It is a great sadless that Steven’s vision was treated as marginal when in any far-sighted society it would form a central strand.

Rest in peace Stephen – you deserve it.

Tony