LISTEN - Long forgotten Seamus Heaney Christmas Poem discovered

by Gráinne Connolly

The discovery of a long forgotten poem by Nobel Laureate, Seamus Heaney, has been described by his family as a 'rare find'. 

The unpublished 13 stanza poem, 'A Christmas Rhyme', was written as a Christmas greeting to his sister, Sheena and her husband Tony McCormack, and vividly describes 'going the rounds' of family and friends houses during this time.
 

Brian McCormack, Manager of Seamus Heaney HomePlace described the poem to Q Radio: 

The manager also explained how it had been found after all these years: 

The poem is now on temporary loan to Seamus Heaney HomePlace and is the centrepiece of a specially curated exhibition of Seamus Heaney's Christmas cards. 

'Longing For Snow' brings together a collection of the limited edition Christmas Cards which the Nobel Laureate had privately printed over many years to send to friends and family. 

Each of them is uniquely designed and includes a poem, line of text from a new poem or line of text for a new poem or piece of writing he was working on at the time. 

(Rebecca Gordon at HomePlace with the collection of Christmas Cards being used for the exhibition)
 

The long-forgotten poem and 'Longing For Snow', the exhibition of Christmas cards is currently on show at Seamus Heaney HomePlace and will be until Sunday 7th January.