THE Secretary of State has defended the use of a picture of poet Seamus Heaney in a campaign to mark the centenary of the state saying the Northern Ireland Office sought permission to use the portrait in the promotional literature.
Brandon Lewis also said he hoped all communities could take part in centenary events regardless of constitutional views.
While the director of the Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen's University, Glenn Patterson, said it did not give permission for an image of the poet in to be used in
the 'Our Story in the Making', the NIO has disputed this.
The inclusion of a colour portrait of the Nobel laureate in the NI Beyond 100 initiative caused controversy when it was unveiled by Mr Lewis earlier this month.
Mr Heaney, who grew up in Bellaghy 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”.
Speaking yesterday Mr Lewis said: "I don't know that we consulted with the family but we do have permission to use the image.
"The centenary is for all people in Northern Ireland.
"So whether someone is a nationalist or a unionist the centenary is actually about the end of a decade of centenaries and is about what the Northern Ireland experience has been over the last 100 years and also looking forward.
"From whatever point of view they want to do that respecting their constitutional views, because actually it is chance to promote Northern Ireland ... and that's something people from all communities can be a part of", he added.
