THE funeral will take place tomorrow of award-winning Belfast poet Ciaran Carson.
Mr Carson died on Sunday, aged 70, after being diagnosed with cancer in March.
President Michael D Higgins was among the many people who paid tribute to him.
He recalled travelling to the Scottish island of Iona with Mr Carson and said the Belfast man's "love of the Irish language lasted throughout his life".
Mr Carson, who was born on the lower Falls Road, grew up speaking Irish as his first language.
He published 15 volumes of poetry and wrote a number of books, with his awards including the TS Eliot Prize and Forward Prize.
He was the first director of the Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry at Queen's University and had also worked for the Arts Council of Northern Ireland as a specialist in traditional music and culture.
Mr Carson, who in recent years had lived just off the Antrim Road, is survived by his wife Deirdre, children Manus, Gerard and Mary, and brothers and sisters Caitlin, Pat, Brendan and Liam.
Requiem Mass will take place at St Therese of Lisieux Church, Somerton Road, at 10am, with committal at Roselawn Crematorium at 12 noon.
Donations in lieu of flowers are for the NI Hospice or Marie Curie c/o O'Kanes Funeral Directors,116-118 Donegall Street, Belfast.
