Poet Seamus Heaney’s last message not to be afraid
ByThe Courier Reporter
A mourners lays his hands on the coffin of Nobel Laureate poet Seamus Heaney before his funeral in Dublin.
Nobel Laureate and poet Seamus Heaney’s last words to his wife were “don’t be afraid”, one of his son’s revealed at his funeral.
Family and friends joined contemporaries and dignitaries of the world-renowed writer and hundreds of mourners at a church in south Dublin to pay last respects to one of Ireland’s literary greats.
The 74-year-old writer died unexpectedly in hospital on Friday after a short illness.
Mourners at his funeral at the Sacred Heart Church in Donnybrook were led by his widow Marie and children Michael, Christopher and Catherine Ann.
“His last few words in a text message he wrote to my mother minutes before he passed away were in his beloved Latin and they read ‘nolle timere’ (‘don’t be afraid’),” Michael said.
Poet Seamus Heaney’s last message not to be afraid
