Hozier has described two small tattoos, both short Latin phrases. “Noli timere” is tied to Seamus Heaney’s last text to his wife, Marie; “sine qua non” was inked with Hozier’s father and brother for his father’s 60th birthday.
The first phrase is visible on Hozier’s left arm in the Movement artwork, and he has explained how he got it. He has confirmed the second tattoo in an interview, but its placement and appearance aren’t documented as clearly.
“Noli timere”: the words on Hozier’s left arm
“Noli timere” means “do not be afraid.” Hozier said the phrase was the last message Seamus Heaney sent his wife, Marie, in a text before he died. He admired Heaney’s writing and chose the words for their source and the story around them.
Hozier has described himself as a devoted reader of Heaney. The poet’s attention to place, memory and the natural world is often compared with Hozier’s writing, but the wider literary connection is background; Hozier’s own account is what anchors the tattoo’s meaning.
Hozier said his close friend Stevie Appleby, a writer, musician and artist, did the stick-and-poke tattoo during his first tour. In a separate Q&A, he said he chose someone he liked to make a mark he intended to keep. He also recalled returning home and spending a long evening with a friend doing another tattoo with a needle, thread and ink. That’s his recollection of the occasion, not a recommendation of the technique.
A phrase from Heaney, not a Hozier lyric
The phrase isn’t a Hozier lyric, album title or line he wrote. He has said it comes from Heaney’s message to Marie. Hozier called the story “beautiful and tragic”; that is his response, and the public account doesn’t ask us to assign the tattoo a wider meaning.
Movement as a visual frame
In the Movement artwork, Hozier reclines underwater with a book, and the lettering appears high on his arm. The cover is the clearest public image of the tattoo, but its dreamlike setting tells us about the artwork, not a separate meaning for the words.
Hozier has described the placement as his left arm; the cover shows it near the shoulder. That’s why both descriptions appear. The image doesn’t establish the lettering’s exact size or when it was made.
A family milestone behind “sine qua non”
The second phrase Hozier has discussed is “sine qua non.” He got it with his father and brother for his father’s 60th birthday.
He glossed it as “without this, nothing follows.” The phrase is also used for something essential or necessary; this was the wording Hozier chose when he explained it.
The sources here don’t show where the tattoo is, what the lettering looks like, or whether the three family members have matching versions. The phrase and the occasion are confirmed; those visual details aren’t.
A pair of personal stories
Both tattoos use Latin, but they point to different relationships: Heaney’s message to Marie, and a birthday shared with Hozier’s father and brother. In the interviews cited, those are the two tattoos he has discussed.
There’s no public catalogue of a larger collection here. Fan tributes to Hozier can be mistaken for his own ink, so it’s safer to stop at the tattoos he has identified.
The public record is different for each phrase: “Noli timere” can be seen in the Movement artwork; “sine qua non” is confirmed in Hozier’s account, without a comparable image in the sources reviewed.
What is confirmed, and what remains unknown
The sources here confirm two tattoos, not a complete catalogue. Beyond their Latin wording and the stories Hozier has shared, the public record leaves the second tattoo’s appearance and any other designs open. A clear photo or Hozier’s own account would be needed to say more.
