Polish writer wins postponed Nobel literature prize
Blue Faces was published posthumously by Excalibur Press.
Mr O Murchu, who is also the McKee family’s solicitor, told those assembled that Lyra was “an amazing young woman who was just beginning her journey in life”.
The pair first met in 2014 when Ms McKee became involved with the cross-community Paper Trail project, of which Mr O Murchu is chairperson.
The project, which seeks to help victims and survivors of the Troubles, was founded by Mr MacAirt. Mr O Murchu said it was a great privilege to talk about his gifted friend’s “life and legacy”.
He added in a speech: “I have thought about what she (Lyra) would say if she was able to join us here today.
“First of all, she would be very shy and embarrassed with all of the attention. Extremely humble, she just would not know what to say.
“Then, out of sight of everyone, she would start talking at a million miles an hour for at least an hour, excitedly telling us about all the amazing people she had met, how honoured and amazed she was to be spoken of by such an organisation ... and to be invited here. Most of all she would be proud... to be in such esteemed company.”
Ms McKee’s sister Nichola thanked the organisation for honouring her sister.
She said: “Lyra fell in love with journalism at the age of 16 and dedicated herself to giving a voice to those without a voice in our society and beyond through her writing.”
The family plans to travel to the memorial in the summer.
Honour: Olga Tokarczuk THE 2018 Nobel prize in literature has been awarded to Polish author Olga Tokarczuk.
The prize, postponed from last year following sex abuse allegations that rocked the Swedish academy, was awarded to Tokarczuk “for a narrative imagination that with encyclopedic passion represents the crossing of boundaries as a form of life”.
The 2019 prize went to Austrian author Peter Handke. Mats Malm, the academy’s permanent secretary, said Handke was honoured “for an influential work that with linguistic ingenuity has explored the periphery and the specificity of human experience”.