Heaney at 70 - We are all in his debt

NO matter what our circumstances an informed perspective will, more often than not, help us overcome the difficulties of the day.

For close on half a century Seamus Heaney has given Ireland a perspective rooted in place and legacy but honest to the moment.

He has offered a perspective that helped make some sense of the dark years when this small island was not at peace.

His humanism, his wisdom and his recognisable fundamentalism, in the very best sense of the phrase, have always pointed us to the bigger picture and the greater truths. Because of this he is hugely popular not only in Ireland but around the world, an almost unique achievement for a living poet.

There are so many strands in his life that run through so many other Irish lives that made it almost inevitable that we would take him and his work to our hearts.

Seamus Heaney, we are in your debt. Happy birthday.