He is widely considered to be one of the most important and influential poets of the 20th century. Among his list of many honors, Heaney was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1995 and his papers are now housed at the National Library of Ireland.
1966 Eric Gregory Award
1967 Cholmondeley Award
1968 Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize
1975 E. M. Forster Award
1975 Duff Cooper Memorial Prize
1995 Nobel Prize in Literature
1996 Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
1997 Elected Saoi of Aosdána
1998 St. Louis Literary Award from the Saint Louis University Library Associates
2001 Golden Wreath of Poetry, the main international award given by Struga Poetry Evenings to a world-renowned living poet for life achievement in the field of poetry
2004 Kenyon Review Award for Literary Achievement
2005 Irish PEN Award
2006 T. S. Eliot Prize for
District and Circle
2007 Poetry Now Award for District and Circle
2009 David Cohen Prize
2011 Poetry Now Award for
Human Chain
2011 Griffin Poetry Prize finalist for Human Chain
2011 Bob Hughes Lifetime Achievement Award
2012 Griffin Poetry Prize, Lifetime Recognition Award
