Bono and Edge Take Part in Tribute to Irish Poet Seamus Heaney

Bono, The Edge, Paul Simon and Paul McGuinness have helped pay tribute to Seamus Heaney, the Nobel Prize-winning Irish poet who died last year.

A tapestry titled "Out Of The Marvelous" was commissioned by Amnesty International and partially funded by the rock stars. Designed by Czech artist Peter Sis and woven in France, it's now hanging in Dublin Airport's Terminal 2 .

According to the Belfast Telegraph, Bono said Heaney should be an inspiration to people on their travels:

"With my life, I pass through a lot of airports. Seamus' poems are my companion on every journey ... they come with me wherever I go. Now, when any of us travel -- be it leaving our home, or our visitors returning to their own homes, Seamus will be there to bid us all farewell."

Edge agreed that Heaney was an inspiration to U2:

"Seamus Heaney was an inspiration to our band -- as well as to politicians, artists, dreamers and all in between, from every corner of the world. I love the idea that the words of this great poet -- and Sis' beautiful tapestry -- will send travelers from Ireland and beyond safely on their way 'out of the marvelous.'"

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'The Quietest Storm That Ever Blew Into Town...'

While visiting a clinic in Ghana earlier today, Bono heard the news of the death of Seamus Heaney, Nobel Laureate and widely regarded as one of the greatest Irish poets of all time. 

'Seamus was a great, great poet. I know people throw around this phrase a lot, but his poem From the Republic of Conscience, literally changed my life. As an activist he was the quietest storm that ever blew into town. In fact, in so many things he was a gentle genius, whose words challenged us with the grit and beauty of life as much as they gave us solace. He wrote with a brevity that strangely spilled to the brim. 

'We all envied how he made that most complicated of things, the balancing of work and family, appear so simple. In Marie he found his other whole. And it is a joy to be around his kids... Michael, Chris and Catherine Ann. They have all of his humility in their sharpness. 

'I take his poems with me wherever I go. I was in Liberia just a few days ago and I gave his collection 'Electric Light' to President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, whose entire country is in darkness. She knew exactly who he was and immediately started reading the poems while standing beside me. A few days after that I gave another collection 'Seeing Things' to President John Mahama of Ghana, whose vision of his country is everything... 

'I am bewildered to think Seamus is no longer with us. Because his words will be around forever, it seemed so would he.'

 Bono talking about Heaney

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