Northern Ireland

Director of Seamus Heaney Centre denies giving permission for use of poet's image in NI centenary branding

The image of Seamus Heaney used in the "Our Story in the Making: NI Beyond 100" campaign.
The image of Seamus Heaney used in the "Our Story in the Making: NI Beyond 100" campaign. The image of Seamus Heaney used in the "Our Story in the Making: NI Beyond 100" campaign.

THE director of the Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen's University has said it did not give permission for an image of the poet in to be used in a campaign to mark the centenary of Northern Ireland.

The inclusion of a colour portrait of the Nobel laureate in the "Our Story in the Making: NI Beyond 100" initiative caused controversy when it was unveiled by Secretary of State Brandon Lewis earlier this month.

Mr Heaney, who grew up in rural Co Derry and died in Dublin in 2013, often spoke of his Irish Catholic and nationalist heritage.

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood branded the use of his portrait as “deeply offensive”, describing it as a “cynical attempt to co-opt Seamus Heaney’s image and reduce his work to a branding tool to promote that narrative about partition”.

The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) refused to confirm if it consulted the family, although the BBC reported that they were not asked.

The NIO said that "permission for use of the Seamus Heaney portrait was received from the Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen's University Belfast, who hold rights to the portrait".

Author Glenn Patterson is director of the Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen's University Belfast
Author Glenn Patterson is director of the Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen's University Belfast Author Glenn Patterson is director of the Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen's University Belfast

A spokesman said the "purpose of the centenary brand is to showcase stories from all communities and all geographic areas, both historically and into the future".

Images of 1972 Olympic gold medallist Lady Mary Peters also appear in the campaign.

However, the director of the Seamus Heaney Centre, which was established as a centre for excellence in poetry and research in tribute to the poet, has now contradicted the NIO claim.

In a letter published in The Irish Times yesterday, Glenn Patterson said: "The Seamus Heaney Centre does not own the portrait of Seamus Heaney that the Northern Ireland Office has used it its Telling Our Stories: NI Beyond 100 campaign.

"The centre could not have given permission for its use and even if it could have would not have done so - nor would it ever do anything that involved Seamus Heaney's name - without first consulting the Heaney family".

Bafta-nominated Mr Patterson has been a writer in residence at the University of East Anglia and University College Cork and is currently Professor of Creative Writing in the School of Arts, English and Literature at Queen's University.