Navigating Lough Erne’s poetic waters with Seamus Heaney

On the 10th anniversary of Seamus’ passing, Fermanagh islander Joey Kelly recalled fondly the day the Nobel Prize winning Irish poet and playwright visited his island home, describing it as a “momentous occasion”.

“They all arrived to make a TV programme about hares. Heaney was interested in hares, being the national animal of Ireland and all the mystical stuff that surrounds them and we have a [band] of hares out here on the island and they are genuine Arctic hares, they turn white in winter,” said Joey, noting that Pat had told Seamus that Inish Doney was the place to go if he wanted to see hares.

The only issue was, there were no hares to be seen that day.

“The hares never turned up because they only turn up in the mornings and the evenings,” laughed Joey, adding: “Pat was wandering around whistling for hares and I just kept saying, ‘they’ll not appear Pat, they only come in the morning’.

“Davey Hammond was getting a bit worried about this, that there were no hares to get pictures of, so Heaney said to him, ‘don’t worry, cut a few scenes from Watership Down into the programme, they’ll never notice the difference’.

“He was a very funny man.”

Caroline Kelly, John Kelly and Seamus Heaney. Photo: Pat Lunny.

Despite the lack of hares, filming for the TV programme continued on the island, with Seamus choosing to recite his poetry in the middle of a huge grove of oak trees.

“I was really pleased at that because that’s my favourite part of the island,” said Joey.

“He sat down and he said, ‘this is where we’ll shoot’.

“He held his hands up and he said, ‘this is the part of the island, this is the inner sanctum, this is where you’ll get the feeling of western zen’.

“I’ve always remembered that. As a wordsmith, he’s second to none.”

Joey Kelly, Seamus Heaney, John Kelly and David Hammond. Photo: Pat Lunny.Photo: Pat Lunny.

Prior to Seamus’ visit, Joey explained how he had read his work, describing himself as “quite the fan”.

“I was able to tell him that, in 1983, myself and a couple of friends sailed across the Atlantic. Instead of bringing a Bible or something to pray on if we were getting into any difficulties out there, I brought a copy of ‘Death of a Naturalist’,” said Joey, adding: “I didn’t ask him to sign it because I didn’t want to appear like a teenager looking to get something signed by a popstar but actually, as it happened, he had copies of a little collection of poems with him. He signed that, completely unasked and he dedicated it to Inish Doney, myself and [my wife] Caroline.”

Speaking to The Impartial Reporter about the day he filmed on Inish Doney Island with his good friends Seamus and David, who both have since sadly passed, Dublin-based, Fermanagh-born broadcaster John Kelly recollected reciting poetry under the trees for the TV programme.

“David Hammond, a man who Seamus described as a ‘force of nature’ and a one man peace process, was a fascinating character from Belfast who was a very dear friend to both of us. He was making a film for the BBC called ‘David Hammond’s Ireland’ and he travelled all over the place. He wanted to go to Fermanagh with me to do something on the hares that were on Inish Doney Island.

“Myself, David and Seamus landed in on Pat Lunny’s boat to Joey and Caroline Kelly’s on Inish Doney. We wandered about the island for most of the day,” said John, adding: “On TV we recited a poem of Seamus’ called ‘The Names of the Hare’, translated from Middle English.

“Seamus would read a bit and then he’d hand it to me and back and forth.”

Seamus Heaney, Caroline Kelly, John Kelly and David Hammond. Photo: Pat Lunny.

Explaining that Pat took photographs throughout the day, he noted how in one, Seamus is sitting by a tree.

“Everytime I go back [to Inish Doney], I look at [that tree] as sort of a memorial [to Seamus],” said John.

John met Seamus in the 1980s, when he first moved to Dublin.“I knew Seamus for a very long time. As you can tell from all the things people say about him, he was consistently a great guy to everybody,” he said, commenting that the beloved poet was “very generous and very kind”.

“He took a great interest in what you were doing, and he was a great correspondent. A great man for postcards and letters, sending jokey things. I couldn’t speak highly enough of him. He’s left a massive gap in the lives of everybody.

“Someone like that is clearly irreplaceable,” said John.