The Seamus Heaney HomePlace is an arts and literary centre in

Bellaghy Bellaghy () is a village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It lies north west of Lough Neagh and about 5 miles north east of Magherafelt. In the centre of the village (known locally as The Diamond) three main roads lead to Magherafelt, ...

County Londonderry County Londonderry (Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry (), is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty-two Counties of Ireland, count ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. It displays the life and work of

Seamus Heaney Seamus Justin Heaney (13 April 1939 – 30 August 2013) was an Irish Irish poetry, poet, playwright and translator. He received the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature. Among his best-known works is ''Death of a Naturalist'' (1966), his first m ...

. Designed by W&M Given Architects, construction began in 2015 by contractors Brendan Loughran & Sons Ltd. It opened in late September 2016. On the site originally stood a RUC barracks. It has won multiple awards throughout its operation, and its visitors include

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

Liam Neeson William John Neeson (born 7 June 1952) is an actor from Northern Ireland. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Liam Neeson, several accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, BAFT ...

, and various award-winning poets. It holds a permanent exhibition titled ''Seamus Heaney: Man and Boy'', and frequently hosts different events throughout the year. It attracted 40,000 people in its first year.

Site

It stands on the former site of the abandoned Bellaghy

Royal Ulster Constabulary The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) Richard Doherty, ''The Thin Green Line – The History of the ...

barracks, which the

Mid Ulster District Council Mid Ulster District Council (; Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ''Mid Ulstèr Airts Cooncil'') is a local authority that was established on 1 April 2015. It replaced Cookstown District Council, Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council and ...

bought in the late 1990s during the demilitarization of Northern Ireland. The site measures in area.

Architecture

The centre was designed by W&M Given Architects. The company, quoted in a report by the

Department for Communities The Department for Communities (DfC, Irish Language, Irish: ''An Roinn Pobal''; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster Scots: ''Depairtment fur Commonities'') is a devolved Northern Ireland government department in the Northern Ireland Executive. The m ...

, says the building was intended to reflect

vernacular architecture Vernacular architecture (also folk architecture) is building done outside any academic tradition, and without professional guidance. It is not a particular architectural movement or style but rather a broad category, encompassing a wide range a ...

within Bellaghy:

Exterior

The building incorporates the

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

stone that made the wall of the barracks in its facade and surrounding walls. It intends to combine both modern and historical architecture, with Rachel Cooke for ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'' describing it as "vaguely Scandinavian", using only stone, glass, and wood. The front landscaping is a paved circular area made "to encourage gatherings for community activity and performances." There is a car park specifically for the centre and a back yard.

Interior

It has two floors, containing the biographical and artistic exhibition titled ''Seamus Heaney: Man and Boy.'' The first floor has a lobby with photographs of Heaney on the walls, and contains items such as a handwritten copy of Heaney's poem ''The

Conway Stewart Conway Stewart & Company Ltd is a British manufacturing company of writing implements, founded in 1905 by Frank Jarvis and Thomas Garner in London. The company became notable for its fountain pens, although it also produced ballpoint pens. Con ...

,'' Heaney's leather schoolbag, and his school desk. The second floor is described as an oblique approach to Heaney's life and work, containing a collection of mobiles of words he used in his poems. ''The Helicon'' is a 190-seat performance space situated in the rear side of the building. There is also a café.

History

Construction

Construction began in January 2015, contracted to Brendan Loughran & Sons Ltd. It finished in September the following year and cost £4.25 million to complete.

Opening

The inaugural opening took place on the evening of September 29, 2016, attended by Heaney's surviving family, before opening to the public the following day. The opening festival was attended by singer-songwriter

Paul Brady Paul Joseph Brady (born 19 May 1947) is an Irish singer-songwriter and musician from Strabane, Northern Ireland. His work straddles folk and pop. He was interested in a wide variety of music from an early age. Initially popular for playing ...

, and poets

Michael Longley Michael George Longley (27 July 1939 – 22 January 2025) was a Northern Irish poet. In his later years Longley observed: "It's a mystery where poems come from. If I knew where poems came from I would go there ... When I write a poem I am movi ...

and

Gerald Dawe Gerald Dawe (22 April 1952 – 29 May 2024) was an Irish poet, academic and literary critic. Life and career Gerald Dawe was born in north Belfast, Northern Ireland, and grew up with his mother, sister, and grandmother. He lived mostly in the S ...

Operation

The centre is managed by Heaney's nephew, Brian McCormick. It takes an estimated £500k to run annually. It was visited by then

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

and wife Camilla in May 2017 during their trip to Ireland. There, he gave a speech about Seamus Heaney and the centre: In 2019, it had accumulated a debt of £1 million. The Mid Ulster Council went to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

which an ''

Irish News Irish commonly refers to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the island and the sovereign state *** Erse (disambiguati ...

'' report claimed was an attempt to search for funding. This was denied by a spokesperson. In 2021, the centre opened the ''Open Ground'' exhibition, which allows visitors to go to five locations related to Heaney's poetry, from the Strand in

Lough Beg Lough Beg () is a small freshwater lake north of Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland. The lake is located on the border between County Londonderry and County Antrim. The River Bann, Lower Bann flows into it from Lough Neagh at the southern end and ...

to an alleyway in nearby

Magherafelt Magherafelt ( ; , ) is a town and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 9,071 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census. It is the biggest town in the south of the county an ...

. These locations provide "listening posts" where his poetry is read aloud and a panel where the poem is interpreted. It cost £750k to develop. In March 2023, the HomePlace announced they would be holding an event on Seamus Heaney's 10th

death anniversary A death anniversary (or deathday) is the anniversary of the death of a person. It is the opposite of birthday. It is a custom in several Asian cultures, including Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia, China, Georgia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, Myanmar ...

. The event was held between August 25–27 and was attended by ten poets, including

Paul Muldoon Paul Muldoon is an Irish poet. He has published more than thirty collections and won a Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and the T. S. Eliot Prize. At Princeton University he has been both the Howard G. B. Clark '21 University Professor in the Humani ...

, Niall Campbell, Emma Must, and

Owen Sheers Owen Sheers (born 20 September 1974) is a Welsh poet, author, playwright and television presenter. He was the first writer-in-residence to be appointed by any national rugby union team. Early life Owen Sheers was born in Suva, Fiji, and was ...

. Musician

Colm Mac Con Iomaire Colm Mac Con Iomaire () is an Irish composer and musician from Blackrock, County Dublin, Ireland, who plays keyboards, violin and sings with The Frames. He is the son of Liam Mac Con Iomaire, a writer, journalist and broadcaster. He attended ...

also performed at the event. The documentary ''Seamus Heaney and the Music of What Happens'' screened at the event, followed by a Q&A session with the director Adam Low and producer Martin Rosenbaum.

Reception

Christopher Heaney, Seamus's son, said his father would have been "awed" by the centre. It has won numerous awards, including the 2017 AHI Award, 2017 Excellence for Built Heritage Award, 2017 Best Local Authority Tourism Initiative, 2017 Best Visitor and Interpretation Centre, multiple Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards, and Tourism NI's 2022 Most Innovative Business (Large) award. It received around 40,000 visitors in its first year.

Notes

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official HomePlace website
Exhibition and conference centres in Northern Ireland 21st-century architecture in Northern Ireland Infrastructure completed in 2016 Buildings and structures in County Londonderry Tourist attractions in County Londonderry