Belfast poet Tom Paulin has been named the winner of the 2025 PEN Heaney Prize for his critically acclaimed collection, Namanlagh, per rte.ie.
The award, which honours a single-author poetry collection exploring the impact of cultural or political events on human conditions, was presented at a ceremony at the National Library of Ireland in Dublin.
Namanlagh, published by Faber, is Paulin’s 10th collection and his first in more than a decade, marking the continuation of a celebrated career spanning five decades as a poet and cultural commentator.
Named in honour of the late Seamus Heaney, the prize was established in 2024 and is supported by English PEN, Irish PEN/PEN na hÉireann, and the Heaney Estate. It carries a cash prize of £5,000 for the winning author.
The judging panel, comprising poets Sasha Dugdale, Seán Hewitt, and Zaffar Kunial, praised Paulin’s work, stating: “Tom Paulin’s Namanlagh is beautiful and moving… it’s as though nothing is to be falsely embellished and yet the language sings ‘like the real hard stuff’ – even through depression, as history echoes with the present and small resistances speak up.”
Paulin, who grew up in Belfast and now resides in Oxford, expressed his deep gratitude, noting the award’s emphasis on social engagement. He highlighted the connection to Seamus Heaney as particularly significant.
“His poems of sublime beauty have brought a depth of concern and an unfalteringly humane perspective to the conflict in Northern Ireland, and added immensely to the imaginative wealth of Ireland and the world beyond,” Paulin said.
The shortlist for the 2025 prize also included collections by Don Mee Choi, Najwan Darwish, Lena Khalaf Tuffaha, Stav Poleg and Karen Solie.
The prize ceremony alternates between Ireland and England. Susannah Dickey won the inaugural award in 2024, and the next ceremony is scheduled to take place in England in 2026.
