How did Seamus Heaney learn he had won the Nobel Prize?
A week and a half ago we took a trip through the Burren to the Cliffs of Moher. Our bus driver couldn’t keep the microphone in front of his mouth because the earpiece on the head set was broken. This meant he was often giving lengthy descriptions that no one could hear. And that was actually a good thing since he was only getting about ½ of it right.
But he did tell me one story that just charmed me. We were sitting in the bus at the Cliffs of Moher waiting for the students to return. He asked me if I knew any of Seamus Heaney’s poems. I said the only one that I knew was “Postscript”. No sooner was that word out of my mouth when he began reciting it:
And some time make the time to drive out west
Into County Clare, along the Flaggy Shore,
In September or October, when the wind
And the light are working off each other . . .
I joined in and between the two of us we knew the whole thing. He said, “I didn’t think about it on the way here but on the way back I’ll show you the Flaggy Shore. It’s at New Quay between Ballyvaghan and Kinvarra.” He went on, “There’s a great story about that poem and that place".
The story he told me was that Seamus Heaney and Brian Friel were traveling in West Clare on holiday when they stopped into a pub for lunch. As it happened, the pub owner was a big fan of Heaney’s and in particular of “Postcript”. There, prominently displayed on the wall behind the bar, was a large framed copy of the poem. Of course, being a fan, the owner recognized him. She rushed over, “Are you Seamus Heaney”? Heaney, pleased, blushed a little and said, “I am". She said, “What are you doing here? Haven’t you seen the news today"? When he said that he hadn’t, she said, “You’re after winning the Nobel Prize”!
I loved that! I made notes, and when we drove by New Quay I took the shot of the Flaggy Shore at the top of this post. And, I was feeling a little bad for being so hard on him.
Last week Liz Weir was here and we were talking about the Burren trip and the driver. So, to be fair, I said that he had told me one great story and I told it to her. “Oh, that’s good", she said. “Nicely done working in the area like that, but that’s not what happened”!
Turns out that the notice was late in reaching Heaney, but not because he was tourin’ the Burren with Brian Friel. He was in Italy!
Then, of course, I doubted every bit of the story. Was that even actually the Flaggy Shore he had shown me? Yes, it was! You can see better pictures of it here.
Ah, yes. The oral tradition in action!