Revered writer and critic Seamus Deane dies aged 81 after illness

Mr Deane, best known for his Booker Prize-shortlisted 1996 novel Reading in the Dark, passed away in Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, yesterday after a short illness.

Professor Kevin Rafter, chair of the Arts Council of Ireland described Mr Deane as “a gifted writer and a profound intellect”.

In expressing the Arts Council’s sadness at his death, Professor Rafter said Seamus Deane “was a master of every writing form”.

“As a critic, an editor, a poet and a novelist, Deane brought concentrated rigour and empathy to his work,” he said. "An inspiring teacher and continual advocate for Irish writing, Seamus Deane leaves behind a powerful literary and cultural legacy.”

Mr Deane was born in Derry in 1940, and educated at Queen’s University and Cambridge.

He was professor of modern English and American literature in University College Dublin, and lectured extensively across Europe and the United States. His collections of poetry included Gradual Wars (1972), which won the AE Memorial Prize, Rumours (1977), History Lessons (1983) and Selected Poems (1988).

Mr Deane had written numerous works of criticism on Irish literature, and a history of the French Enlightenment.

His first novel, Reading in the Dark, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1996 and won the Irish Times Literary Award in 1997.

He was a director of the Field Day theatre company, and was general editor of the Field Day Anthology of Irish Writing.

Mr Deane is survived by his partner, Emer Nolan, their daughter Iseult, his first wife Marion and their children Conor, Ciarán, Cormac and Éimear.