Patrick Noel Heaney Obituary

December 13, 2018

Thomas S. Woods wrote a sympathy message

“We are very saddened indeed to learn of the passing of Pat Heaney. Although we never met him, we have often heard Pat spoken of fondly during several visits we have made to the Bellaghy/Castledawson area of South Derry to explore the places associated with his brother Seamus's life and poetry. While there we have become friends with Pat's brother and sister-in-law, Charlie and Mary Heaney. On one of our trips (in 2015) we spent a lovely hour or so visiting with Barney Devlin (now, sadly, also deceased). Barney was the blacksmith immortalized in Seamus's poem, "The Forge." Barney regaled us with his account of the events that gave rise to Seamus's poem, "Midnight Anvil." That poem immortalizes the occasion when Seamus and his relatives who could be present gathered at Barney's blacksmith shop to ring in the new millennium on December 31, 1999. Pat was linked in to the event from Edmonton by cellphone and so was "virtually" present when Seamus struck Barney's anvil 12 times with Barney's hammer to mark the turning of the clock and, thus, the century and the millennium. In our conversations with friends and Heaney family members, Pat was always spoken of with great affection. We extend our sincere condolences to Pat's immediate family and to Mary and Charlie and all of the other members of Pat's extended family. Tom Woods and Lydia Lovison Vancouver, B.C.”