Ireland mourns the loss of its Nobel laureate poet, Seamus Heaney, in a funeral that included a final message from the man himself.

Dublin’s Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart was packed with government leaders from both parts of Ireland as well as poets, playwrights, novelists, and celebrities.

The 74-year-old Heaney won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1995 in recognition of his wide-ranging writings inspired by the rural wonders of Ireland, the strife of his native Northern Ireland, the ancient cultures of Europe, of Catholic faith and Celtic mysticism.

The 90-minute service ended with a rendition of “Brahms’s Lullaby”, something Heaney had requested be played at his funeral.

The poet’s son, Michael Heaney, said his father’s final words were in a text message sent to his wife a few moments before he died.

‘Noli timere’, Latin for ‘Don’t be afraid’.