Poet Mahon scoops £40,000 honour

"There you are, staring at clouds and dreaming up unrealistic projects, when the world comes and tells you you've been noticed," said Belfast-born Mahon.

"I couldn't be more grateful," he said at the ceremony in the British Library.

Previous winners of the prize, awarded every two years, include Harold Pinter, Muriel Spark and VS Naipaul.

Poet laureate Andrew Motion, who chaired the judging panel, described Mahon as "one of the most original and subtle poets writing in the English language".

In 1999, the Irish Times named him as one of the ten most important Irish writers of all time.

The poet's collections include Night Crossing, The Hudson Letter, The Yellow Book and Harbour Lights.