The National Library of Ireland has launched a two-week public transport campaign, bringing five of Seamus Heaney’s classic poems to commuters around Ireland.

Selected by Heaney's family, the poems will be made available for the enjoyment of public transport users, and will be on display on Irish Rail, Bus Éireann, Dublin Bus and Luas. The campaign, which coincides with what would have been Seamus Heaney’s 80th birthday on April 13, will run until April 20.

The poems that will feature in the campaign are ‘The Clothes Shrine’, ‘Postscript’, ‘The Railway Children’, ‘Route 110, III’ and ‘Squarings xxxi’. All five works refer to travel, transport, or the bustle of daily life.

Commenting on the initiative, Dr Sandra Collins, Director of the National Library of Ireland, said:

“Seamus Heaney is one of Ireland’s greatest and most-loved writers, and we are delighted to bring a selection of his poetry to anyone commuting to work or school, or travelling for leisure.

“In his poetry, Seamus Heaney demonstrated a remarkable ability to reveal the wonderful in the ordinary, and we hope this campaign will allow people to take a break, put down their phones and take a moment to enjoy Heaney’s words.

“We also warmly invite everyone to learn more about Heaney and his work at ‘Listen Now Again’, the National Library’s free exhibition at the Bank of Ireland Cultural and Heritage Centre on Westmoreland Street.”

‘Seamus Heaney: Listen Now Again’ draws on the National Library of Ireland's Heaney archive, donated to the Library by the poet and his family in 2011, and features original manuscripts, letters, unpublished works, diary entries, and photographs. It is a partnership project between the Library, the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and Bank of Ireland, and has welcomed 80,000 visitors since it opened at the Bank of Ireland Cultural and Heritage Centre, Westmoreland Street, last summer.

The exhibition is free to visit and is open Monday to Saturday, from 10am to 4pm.