merrion street

It was with great sadness that I learned today of the death of Seamus Heaney and I wish to express my deepest condolences to his wife Marie and family.

Not only was Seamus an inspiration through his poetry to so many people, but he was also extraordinarily committed to human rights and the fight for a better world.

He was a staunch supporter of Amnesty International and the Irish Anti-Apartheid Movement, among other such organisations, and I had the privilege of meeting him and Marie on many occasions as they made stalwart contributions to the defence of human rights.

I remember Seamus speaking movingly in the Mansion House in 2011 following the death of his great friend, Kader Asmal, the founder of the Irish Anti-Apartheid Movement.

Kader often quoted Seamus’s beautiful line about hope and history rhyming in the context of Nelson Mandela’s achievements in South Africa.

This showed just how much Seamus’s poetry resonated across the world in many different contexts, just as it resonated so deeply in the context of the conflict on this island.

Seamus was never afraid, either, to remind politicians such as myself of our responsibilities and the importance of social justice underpinning public policy.

He will live on through his poetry, but also through the contributions he made to human rights.

In his Nobel Prize acceptance speech, Seamus said poetry had “the power to remind us that we are hunters and gatherers of values”. His values infused everything he did and his legacy will be enduring.