Ireland is in mourning today following the death of the celebrated poet and playwright Seamus Heaney, at the age of 74. His family
announced in a statement that he died in hospital in Dublin following a short illness. One in a long line of great Irish poets, Heaney was born in Bellaghy, Co. Derry, Northern Ireland in 1939. He became only the third Irishman to will the Nobel Literature Laureate in 1995. He has won numerous awards for his poetry and plays, including the Golden Wreath of Poetry in 2001, the T. S. Eliot Prize in 2006 and two Whitbread prizes; in 1996 and 1999. He was made Professor of Poetry for both Harvard and Oxford Universities, and was made a "Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et Lettres" in 1996. His poetry first hit the public eye in the 1960's with the publication of "Death Of A Naturalist", his first major collection of poems published in 1966. Other collections of his included "Door into the Dark" (1969), "Wintering Out" (1972), "North" (1975), "Field Work" (1979), "Station Island" (1984), "The Haw Lantern" (1987), "Seeing Things" (1991), "The Spirit Level" (1996), "Electric Light" (2001) and "District and Circle" (2006). His poetry very much focused on his upbringing, Ireland, and the Troubles, which were reflected in a dark mood in his poetry.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis