Poet Michael Longley touched souls with just a few words, funeral hears

Acclaimed Belfast poet Michael Longley managed to touch the souls of people with just a few words, his funeral has heard.

President of Ireland Michael D Higgins was among mourners who joined Longley’s family at Saturday’s service in All Souls Church in Belfast.

The renowned poet died in hospital at the age of 85 on January 22nd.

A representative of Taoiseach Michel Martin also attended the funeral, as did SDLP leader and family friend Claire Hanna.

Longley won a number of awards, including the TS Eliot Prize, the Feltrinelli International Prize and the Whitbread Poetry Prize. He was made a CBE in 2010 and was awarded the freedom of Belfast.

Among his best-known work is the 1994 poem Ceasefire, inspired by the then-ceasefires in his native Northern Ireland and the search for peace and reconciliation.

Longley met Queen Camilla when she visited Hillsborough Castle in Co…

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