Tributes after poet Michael Longley dies aged 85

The Belfast-born poet Michael Longley, who has died

Tributes have been paid to the acclaimed Belfast-born poet Michael Longley, who has died at the age of 85.

The President of Ireland Michael D Higgins said he regarded him "as a peerless poet" and that he would be recognised as one of the greatest poets Ireland had ever produced.

Longley was born in July 1939 and lived in the city until his death, which was announced on Thursday.

He went to school at Royal Belfast Academical Institution before studying at Trinity College Dublin, where he became immersed in poetry.

Awarded CBE

Longley received a number of prestigious awards for his work throughout an illustrious career, including the T.S. Eliot Prize, the Feltrinelli International Prize and the Whitbread Poetry Prize.

He published his first collection of poetry, No Continuing City, when he was 30 years old.

Living in Belfast at the height of the Troubles, Longley was initially reluctant to write about the conflict, but said it had affected him personally and was explored in in some of his poems, including The Ice-Cream Man.

• Versatile poet's work ranged from nature to civil strife

In 1994, he wrote arguably his most famous poem, Ceasefire.

The poem depicts sectarian violence experienced by many in Northern Ireland during the 1970s and '80s and was inspired by a declaration of an IRA ceasefire in the mid '90s.

He was appointed CBE in 2010 and awarded the freedom of his native city in 2015 for his contribution to literature and cultural life.

A number of tributes have been paid to Michael Longley on Thursday.

The President of Ireland Michael D Higgins said: "It has long been my belief that his work is of the level that would be befitting of a Nobel Prize for Literature.

"The range of his work was immense, be it from the heartbreak of loss to the assurance of the resilience of beauty in nature."

Artist Colin Davidson posted a tribute, alongside a picture of two portraits of his "dear friend".

"Today, I am filled with sadness and a great sense of pride," he said.

"Michael was one of the Belfast greats. One of the Irish greats. One of the world's greats.

"A poet whose work quietly whispered those truths which we all needed to hear."

In a statement, Queens University Belfast (QUB) said the poet's "profound contributions to literature and his deep connection to our city have left an indelible mark on the cultural landscape".

'Our greatest living poet'

The leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) Claire Hanna described the poet as "a prince of the English language", adding it had been a privilege to know him as a "family friend and neighbour".

"He was our greatest living poet. More pertinently, he was a beautiful human being, kind, generous, open, humorous. He was truly a wonderful person.

"Wherever in the world his career took him, he always remained a Belfast man at heart and you can see that in much of his work."