CO Down singer/songwriter Tim Wheeler has been appointed a Seamus Heaney Centre Fellow for 2021-2022.
The Ash front man, who hails from Downpatrick, was appointed by Queen's University alongside Belfast-based writer, Wendy Erskine and London-based writer, Denise Riley.
Each year, The Seamus Heaney Centre at the university announces three Fellows from the worlds of poetry, fiction, music, film and television to "explore creative writing in all its forms" by working with students and contributing to the its activities.
Tim Wheeler, who has written nearly all of Ash's notable works, released his debut solo album, Lost Domain, in November 2014.
Speaking about his new appointment, he said: "The first time poetry really resonated with me was when we studied Seamus Heaney's poetry in school.
"I was lucky to have a great English teacher, the novelist David Park," he said.
"He also loaned me Undertones, Clash and Kinks albums and that was when I learned that song writing could have links to poetry.
"I'm really honoured to have been asked to be a Fellow of the Seamus Heaney Centre and I’m very much looking forward to working with the students in the coming year."