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Seámus Heaney addressing guests at the National Library today Mark Stedman/Photocall Ireland

Seámus Heaney donates literary treasure trove to National Library

The Nobel laureate has given a lifetime of literary papers, including early drafts of poems, notebooks and corrections.

POET AND NOBEL laureate Seámus Heaney has donated a lifetime’s worth of literary papers to the National Library of Ireland.

Heaney visited the library today to officially hand over the work – described as “the working papers of Ireland’s greatest living writer” by Taoiseach Enda Kenny.

The collection will be eagerly awaited by literary scholars and others. Heaney is the second Irish Nobel prizewinner to donate his papers to the National Library, following in the footsteps of WB Yeats.

Welcoming the donation, Enda Kenny said the papers were a “fascinating literary archive”. He continued:

To Seamus Heaney and to Marie Heaney, and to their children Michael, Christopher and Catherine, I say thank you on behalf of the nation for ensuring that these wonderful papers become part of the national collection in the care of the National Library of Ireland.

Arts minister Jimmy Deenihan also hailed the poet’s generosity, and said it represented the close connection between writers and the National Library. “Dr Heaney himself, like many great Irish writers before him, has researched, worked and written in this very reading room,” he said.

The collection includes notebooks, early drafts of Heaney’s poetry, corrections and other pieces of writing, the Irish Times reports.

Here’s the man himself reading one of his classics in a collection of archive footage:

(Video: Pete Baker)

More: Seamus Heaney honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award>

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5 Comments
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    Mute Honeybee
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    Mar 4th 2020, 12:19 AM

    So despite Shao giving a false name initially and a false address, it is enough to evade deportation for being unlawfully in the state, so it seems anyway.

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    Mute Marie Broomfield
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    Mar 4th 2020, 12:01 PM

    @Honeybee: No it’s not. As we can see from the judges statements when he ruled in the states favour last November, “merely sending a document to the wrong address does not make it invalid” . This is about the failures with the Garda and the GNIB , which amounted technically, to evidence being withheld from the courts. We can’t have court judgements made when all the relevant information is not submitted. Lessons learned(hopefully) check if given addresses even exist and make sure computer data recording systems are fit for purpose and data is up to date!

    11
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    Mute Pat Coyne
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    Mar 4th 2020, 12:37 AM

    How much did the members of the legal trade squeeze out this farrago?
    It’s nice work if you can get it.

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    Mute Patricia O'Reilly
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    Mar 4th 2020, 12:28 AM

    Unbelievable..

    397
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    Mute Sam Greene
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    Mar 4th 2020, 1:40 AM

    And how much has all this fiasco cost us, the tax payer? Not being deported on a technicality. This is a joke, hes illegally here, knows that hes illegally her and so do the courts.

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    Mute Mr.Portly
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    Mar 4th 2020, 12:33 AM

    Meanwhile he remains an illegal immigrant and as such should be removed, no?

    528
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    Mute Carol Cunningham
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    Mar 4th 2020, 4:05 AM

    So the judge says that nobody is to blame for this; yes there is someone to blame: the judge!

    305
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    Mute Peter
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    Mar 4th 2020, 5:10 AM

    How did he manage to get married? Would he not have to prove he’s here legally? Did he produce false documents or information for the marriage?

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    Mute Marie Broomfield
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    Mar 4th 2020, 2:38 PM

    @Peter: No. He obviously was unaware of all the letters that were went to him over 9 years :D

    9
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    Mute Der Atkins
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    Mar 5th 2020, 11:26 AM

    @Peter: There are grounds to appeal this on the basis of his marriage .Interesting how he got married as an illegal !!

    5
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    Mute Pat Coyne
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    Mar 4th 2020, 12:39 AM

    How much did the members of the legal trade make out of this farrago?
    It’s nice work if you can get it.

    172
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    Mute Gerard Heery
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    Mar 4th 2020, 4:22 AM

    The land of milk and honey if you’re playing the system , otherwise it’s the second highest tax taker in Europe if your a worker ,no wonder all the real brains of the country are still emmergrating ,ie doctors ,nurses,

    248
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    Mute Gavin Conran
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    Mar 4th 2020, 5:48 AM

    @Gerard Heery: 2nd highest tax taker if you are a worker…..so income tax? Do you have a source for that?

    22
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    Mute Gerard Heery
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    Mar 4th 2020, 9:06 AM

    @Gavin Conran: it was on the rte news last week Denmark has highest

    35
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    Mute Sirius
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    Mar 4th 2020, 6:29 AM

    So, has he been deported or what? Deportation should not hinge on technicalities.

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    Mute Irish Snowden
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    Mar 4th 2020, 6:58 AM

    ‘He who seek justice must come with clean hand.’ The blameless and unintentional misleading of the court should not have rendered this deportation order invalid. It does not change the fact that he knowingly stay here illegally.

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    Mute John Considine
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    Mar 4th 2020, 7:06 AM

    @Irish Snowden: Equity doesn’t apply in this case, and if it did, the State’s paws were dirtier.

    15
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    Mute Denis McClean
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    Mar 4th 2020, 12:56 AM

    Meanwhile, we can’t seem to extradite FFG despite their $230 debt.

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    Mute Denis McClean
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    Mar 4th 2020, 12:56 AM

    @Denis McClean: Billion.

    73
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    Mute talksense
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    Mar 4th 2020, 7:11 AM

    @Denis McClean: I presume you mean the people that took out loans they couldn’t afford to pay back got us into this mess, do some research

    50
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    Mute Lukevic101
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    Mar 4th 2020, 7:58 AM

    @Denis McClean: the €230bn (which is actually more like the ~$256.56bn as of this morning) on the irish debt clock? As in the debt clock that started on the state since the state was born? The same debt that will never be paid back in our lifetime, unless you’re proposing each citizen fork out circa 48k each to pay it back. This is why NTMA issue bond sales, so that they can keep up with their interest payments of this debt. To conclude, this debt is not just FFGs, its everyone’s in Ireland.

    9
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    Mute Fin
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    Mar 4th 2020, 9:37 AM

    @talksense: You can’t really be that naive, can you? Here’s the PAC transcript with AIB’s chairman admitting that the Irish banks were at fault for throwing the country off a cliff. Don’t let facts get in the way of your ability to be duped. https://inquiries.oireachtas.ie/banking/hearings/dermot-gleeson-former-chairman-aib/

    16
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    Mute Thomas Sheridan
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    Mar 4th 2020, 7:19 AM

    So why isn’t he processed for deportation with the correct information!

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    Mute Stevo The Man On A Mission Returns
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    Mar 4th 2020, 8:06 AM

    Anyone who is illegal should be deported it should be that straight forward. I wounder if they caught the lads that came in on a container in new port Ross late last year ?

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    Mute John Considine
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    Mar 4th 2020, 6:42 AM

    If this was a report about an Irish man living in China, and an attempt by the Chinese police to wrongfully deport him, people here would have plenty to say in his favour. The justice system worked here as it is supposed to, the Judge protected this man from a wrongful approach to his case by the executive arm of the State.

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    Mute Earth Traveller
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    Mar 4th 2020, 9:46 AM

    @John Considine: But I very much doubt if the apocryphal Irish man living in China could evade the authorities for 18 years. How could he rent/buy accommodation, work (I suppose), get married, get legal aid (I suppose). Oh, and get a fair hearing at one the top courts in the land. Chinese courts convict more than 99.9 percent of defendants (source: Daily Telegraph).

    53
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    Mute John Considine
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    Mar 4th 2020, 11:23 AM

    @Earth Traveller: Be glad then that you don’t live there and enjoy the rights that the Irish system gives you.

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    Mute Fiona Fitzgerald
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    Mar 4th 2020, 8:24 PM

    @John Considine: That’s exactly how I read it. Also, I’m unsure why people are being arrested now for the crime of obstructing traffic. I’m sure we’ve all had car trouble at some point. It doesn’t sound like anything worth going to court over, TBH.

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    Mute True Blue Girl
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    Mar 5th 2020, 5:08 PM

    @John Considine: Nope. I want all people who are in a country they’re not supposed to be in, to be sent back to the country they came from. Even the Irish.

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    Mute Trevor Gillespie
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    Mar 4th 2020, 1:41 AM

    Best article I’ve Ever read on The Journal. By Far ! & I’ve probably read more than most, commented on very feaw. However, I must add, i do giggle at Most comments. Interesting case. Hope all works out. T

    16
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    Mute Trevor Gillespie
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    Mar 4th 2020, 1:46 AM

    Few. Phew !

    9
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    Mute True Blue Girl
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    Mar 5th 2020, 5:06 PM

    Tip of the Iceberg. It seems Ireland rewards those who break the law.

    5
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    Mute Trevor Gillespie
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    Mar 4th 2020, 1:41 AM

    Best article I’ve Ever read on The Journal. By Far ! & I’ve probably read more than most, commented on very feaw. However, I must add, i do giggle at Most comments. Interesting case. Hope all works out. T

    4
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    Mute Laz Mahon
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    Mar 4th 2020, 11:21 PM

    Ireland once again allowed to be taken for a Ride . What a complete joke, how incompet-nt we are when it comes to immigration policy for our country. We the working tax payer continues to foot the bill. This outrage will only continue until we have a world wide recession, and then we will wake up. Shame, Shame, to continue and make M orons
    out of us.

    5
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    Mute Marie Broomfield
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    Mar 4th 2020, 11:31 AM

    just checking i’m not banned!

    3
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    Mute Marie Broomfield
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    Mar 4th 2020, 11:39 AM

    @Marie Broomfield: whey hey! where my initial comment gone so. so bloody annoying! (wasn’t even a toxic warning unlike this comment)

    4
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    Mute acallkelly
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    Mar 5th 2020, 2:01 PM

    All Chinese students are here not for learning but to stay over the time on visa, its a scam to by in here in the first instance then they are in and overstayed indefinitely , have a child usually and get leave to remain. We are too soft here.

    5
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