b'In February 2013 , Seamus onceagain visited us at Glucksman Ireland Houseat New York University and he enriched theevent beyond measure. He liked the idea ofIrish Studies in America and had been amajor proponent early on. He was with us atthe opening of Glucksman Ireland House inApril 1993 and was one of seven luminarieswe honored along with his great friend BrianFriel. Through two decades, Seamus contin-ued to support and encourage the excellentacademicworkofGlucksmanIrelandHouse,donewiththeleadershipofBobScally and now Joe Lee. His was a powerfulimprimatur:alwaystreasured,never assumed. We benefited from regular visitsfromhismostesteemedcolleaguesandclosest friends such as Peter Fallon and PaulMuldoon. The long association of Seamus withThe American Ireland Fund is at the core ofsome of our most successful projects, andcertainly he was always at the center of themostfunevents.Eachyear,heworked diligently with us to name the recipient ofthe The A.W.B. Vincent American IrelandFund Literary Award, generously funded byMaryon Davies Lewis. Therewasyetanothercherished blessingforme,awonderfulfriendship developed among Seamus, his wife Marie,my late-husband Lew and me. In any citywhere we might chance to meet, Lew andSeamus would compare notes on the localhardware stores, second only to the localbook stores in interest. They also shared anunfortunate weakness for puns, the broaderthe better (no pun intended). Seamus is gone from us far too soon butwe will treasure the beauty and wisdom of hiswork always and continue to learn from hissquatpen.Hesreturnedtohisbeloved Belaghy where the world will come now. Loretta Brennan GlucksmanChairman Emeritus,The American Ireland FundMarie and Seamus Heaney at The Ireland Funds Conference in 2007 Chairman, The A.W.B. Vincent American Ireland Fund Literary Awardconnect2014 | 54'