Immerse yourself in the extraordinary world of Seamus Heaney, and explore through his words and imagination the people and place that so inspired him. Described by Michael Longley as "an echo chamber for the poet's beautiful lines", Seamus Heaney HomePlace features a fully interactive exhibition over two floors, filled with personal stories, images and the voice of the poet himself. A recreation of his Dublin study will transport you back to 1995, when Seamus Heaney was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Previously unseen artefacts, transcripts and books kindly donated by the Heaney family are also on display, ensuring a truly unique and illuminating experience for all. Schools and Group bookings should be made in advance. For special school and group rates contact Box Office.

Brian Bilston and Henry Normal appear together for the first time in a show which one critic has described as “two people reading some poems”. Along the way, they will be drawing on their vast catalogue of crowd favourites – and throwing in new poems, to prevent becoming their own tribute bands. Not ones to overpromise, Brian and Henry are prepared to commit to delivering the greatest poetry show in the history of the world or their names aren’t Brian Bilston and Henry Normal. An evening of poems to be enjoyed not endured.

These mini animation master classes by Can Do Academy are a great introduction for children to the colourful world of Lego animation! The workshop will allow participants to make a complete animated Lego film on an iPad, using sound effects, visual effects, titles  and lots of imagination! Your child will learn to use special iPad apps and they will receive a copy of their film at the end of the session! They can bring their own Lego characters or use the ones supplied by us. More information can be found at https://www.candoacademy.co.uk/ [https://protect-eu.mimecast.com/s/CvE4C91wzCB429uoo2zh?domain=candoacademy.co.uk/] Stictly age 6+ Workshops run at 11.00am - 1.00pm, and 2.00pm - 4.00pm.

Open Ground is a unique visitor experience centred on locations that shaped Seamus Heaney’s life and literature, including places from The Strand at Lough Beg to the Moyola River, which allows visitors the opportunity to discover the smells, sights and sounds that make his poetry so uniquely of this place.  Our new Open Ground Guided tour experience allows you to journey through this landscape with the assistance of our knowledgeable team. You’ll become acquainted with the same lanes, roads and paths that a young Seamus Heaney travelled on and through our informative guides, you’ll hear how each of these five locations held such great significance for Seamus Heaney.  Through the explanation and information revealed by our guides at each point, you will discover how each of these places, so much a part of Seamus Heaney’s formative years, influenced the rich legacy of his literature, with your guide sharing illuminating details and anecdotes around the significance, history and heritage of each unique site. You’ll leave with a much deeper, richer understanding of Seamus Heaney’s poetry and an appreciation for the nature and landscape which so inspired his works.  PLANNING YOUR VISIT:  The tour leaves from the Seamus Heaney HomePlace foyer (at the Exhibition entrance), and starts promptly 12.30PM. Ticket includes price of admission to our 'Man & Boy' exhibition (last admission to 'Man & Boy is 4pm), or your exhibition ticket can be used on an alternative date any time within one calendar month of completion of your Open Ground Tour The Open Ground tour lasts approximately 3 hours  Your own transport is required to travel from point to point and the guides will meet you at each site As this is an outdoor event, please wear suitable clothing and footwear, appropriate for changing weather conditions Booking in advance is essential due to limited places

Join us this summer in the Creative Zone for a colourful workshop inspired by the poetry of Seamus Heaney and the striking landscape art of his friend Colin Middleton. Explore Middleton’s world through pastels and create your own unique landscape masterpiece, inspired by Heaney’s evocative lines: “Loaded brushes hone an edge On mountain blue and heather grey...” In Small Townlands, For Colin Middleton, Death of a Naturalist, 1966 Suitable for ages 8–12.  Landscape images will be provided but feel free to bring your own favourite photo or printout. 

Seamus Heaney wrote two poems about kites, 'A Kite for Michael and Christopher' and 'A kite for Aibhín'. Using the poems as inspiration children will create a wall hanging for their bedroom. A Kite for Michael and Christopher, Station Island, 1984: “All through that Sunday afternoon a kite flew above Sunday, a tightened drumhead, an armful of blown chaff…” A Kite for Aibhin, Human Chain, 2010: “And now it hovers, tugs, veers, dives askew, Lifts itself, goes with the wind until It rises to loud cheers from us below…” Age: 8-11 years old (strictly)

Irish country sensation Derek Ryan’s road to stardom is set to continue with his biggest concert tour yet. Following on from the phenomenal success of his recent TEN tour, Derek Ryan returns to Scotland with a brand new concert tour, playing the hits that has cemented Derek as Ireland’s biggest country singer-songwriter. Derek and his fantastic band (now rated as Ireland’s leading country band) are back on the road to perform many of Derek’s classic hits such as ‘Hold On To Your Hat’ ‘It’s Friday’ and ‘God’s Plan’. The Irish man is a multi-recipient of awards for his performances and songwriting including the Sunday World accolade for ‘Album of the Year’ and ‘Songwriter of the Year’. But Derek, being at the forefront of this new wave of young Irish country stars, continues to remain ever loyal to his worldwide army of fans.

_‘One of our major novelists … the life here radiates through the pages and illuminates ours.’ _― The Guardian  To celebrate the publication of her latest novel _The City Changes Its Face_, we are delighted to welcome award-winning Irish novelist Eimear McBride to The Helicon.  An intimate and immersive story of passion, jealousy and family, the book revisits the characters from _The Lesser Bohemians_ (which won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize), exploring the complexities of love and obsession set over one rainy night in Camden in 1996.  It took 27-year-old Eimear just six months to write her first novel _A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing_ and almost a decade trying to sell it. When finally published in 2013 it took the literary scene by storm winning critical acclaim and awards (Women’s Prize for Fiction, Irish Novel of the Year, the Goldsmiths Prize and others). Her third novel, _Strange Hotel_, further cemented her singular place in the contemporary canon.  Eimear talks to author Paula Shields about her trailblazing career.

Acclaimed author Glenn Patterson returns to The Helicon to talk about his new work of nonfiction _The Northern Bank Job: The Heist and How They Got Away With It. _ In December 2004, two young men were at home with their families. Both worked for the Northern Bank’s cash centre in Belfast. They heard knocks on their front doors. Within a few minutes, masked men invaded their homes, overpowered their loved ones and disabled their electronic devices. It was made clear to the two bank officials that they had a choice: do what they were told or their families would die. Over the course of the following day, £26.5 million was stolen from the Northern Bank: the biggest cash heist in Irish and British history.  In the wake of the twentieth anniversary of this bizarre £26.5 million robbery, Glenn Patterson has built on his popular BBC podcast and his latest book sheds new light on the story of the infamous heist. Born and based in Belfast, Glenn Patterson is the author of 11 novels, two essay collections and a memoir and he also co-wrote the screenplay for the BAFTA-nominated _Good Vibrations_. He is currently Director of the Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen’s University.

_Written and Performed by Charlotte Mccurry. Directed by Paula Mcfetridge._ Lenadoon, West Belfast, 1981.  _Bernadette is 14. She loves her mammy, Gene Kelly, Doris Day and Julie Garland. She shares a bedroom with her wee sister, Julie. Julie loves Sheena Easton, Annie Lennox. And Adam Ant._  _Julie isn’t too bothered there’s women out banging bin lids – one of the hunger strikers just died. She’s more concerned with sorting a new pair of Topaz tights for the Horn Drive disco. She is fourteen after all… _ Julie Livingston was fatally shot by a plastic bullet while crossing the road near her home. Seen through the eyes of Julie’s sister Bernadette, this powerful new play follows a teenage girl navigating her own grief, her family’s loss and their struggle for justice.  A Q&A session will follow the performance.__

Written and performed by Ruairi Conaghan ‘An extraordinary solo performance. A compelling, moving exploration of grief, trauma and the long shadows cast by violence’ ★★★★★ – Fringe Review _Lies Where It Falls_ returns to The Helicon following a sell-out show last year.  When actor Ruairi Conaghan was asked to play Patrick Magee, mastermind of the 1984 Brighton Bomb attack on Margaret Thatcher, it triggered memories of an act of violence upon his own family when he was a child. In 1974 Judge Rory Conaghan was shot dead by the IRA on his Belfast doorstep whilst holding his nine-year-old daughter’s hand. Ruairi Conaghan is Judge Conaghan’s nephew and namesake.  His memories of the murder led to a physical and mental collapse that threatened his life. _Lies Where It Falls_ uses song, poetry, humour and Shakespeare to tell a courageous story of recovery with life-affirming, soul-bearing honesty.

Proudly presented in association with Listowel Writers’ Week Seamus Heaney HomePlace is proud to host Nathan Thrall, 2024 Pulitzer Prize-winning author for General Nonfiction for _A Day in the Life of Abed Salama_.  An international bestseller, the book was translated into more than two dozen languages, selected as a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, and named a best book of the year by over 20 publications, including _The New Yorker, The Economist_ and _Time._ _A Day in the Life of Abed Salama_ is a deeply immersive, stunningly detailed portrait of life in Israel and Palestine, and an illumination of the reality of one of the most contested places on earth. Thrall is also the author of _The Only Language They Understand_. His reporting, essays and criticism have appeared in _The London Review of Books, The Guardian, The New York Times Magazine_ and _The New York Review of Books._ He spent a decade at the International Crisis Group, where he was director of the Arab-Israeli Project, and has taught at Bard College. He lives in Jerusalem. We are delighted to welcome Nathan to HomePlace.

Paul Lynch describes his 2023 Booker Prize-winning _Prophet Song_ as an ‘attempt at radical empathy’. A deeply human portrait of one woman’s fight to hold her family together, the novel imagines a chilling totalitarian-state future for Ireland which echoes the present situation of so many across the world.  Join us to hear Lynch discuss his devastating vision of a country at war, the dangers of complacency and the power of fiction to illuminate the possible.  Among other prizes, Paul has won the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year and France’s Prix Libr’à Nous for Best Foreign Novel. He has been shortlisted for many international awards, including Italy’s Strega European Prize, France’s Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger, Prix Littérature-Monde and the Jean Monnet Prize for European Literature. In 2024 he was appointed Distinguished Writing Fellow at Maynooth University and was elected to Aosdána, the Irish academy for the arts honouring distinguished artists

‘Tobin gets the combination just right, giving emphasis to Yeats’ imagery and emotions, highlighting the subtler nuances, and opening the poems up to offer a new experience.’ – _All About Jazz _ To mark the 160th birthday of W. B. Yeats on 13th June, renowned Irish jazz singer Christine Tobin performs _Sailing to Byzantium_, a collection of original songs written to 12 of Yeats’ poems.  This live performance will feature the songs from Tobin’s acclaimed 2012 album, which won a British Composer Award in the same year. For this ambitious project, Tobin selected a range of her favourite Yeats poems, from early work through to his final collection, including such beloved works as ‘When You Are Old’ and ‘The Second Coming’.  The broad palette of harmony and colour throughout this collection draws on influences from folk, jazz and twentieth century classical music. A perfect blend for music and poetry lovers alike.

Jan Carson, Fiona Benson and Writing Partners Adam Patterson and Declan Lawn Glen Patterson, Director of Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen’s, joins the 2025 Fellows to talk about their writing lives.  Three-time T.S. Eliot Prize-shortlisted poet Fiona Benson will release her fourth collection _Midden Witch_ in May. Her awards include the Forward Prize, the Seamus Heaney First Collection Prize and the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize.  Belfast-based novelist and short story writer Jan Carson won the EU Prize for Literature for Ireland for _The Fire Starters_. Her new novel, _Few and Far Between_, is forthcoming in 2026.  Screenwriters Declan Lawn and Adam Patterson spent a decade making documentaries for _Panorama_ before moving into drama with _The Salisbury Poisonings_, followed by the _feature Rogue Agent_. They are currently working on a new series of their original scripted drama_ Blue Lights._

The Ulster Orchestra is delighted to visit Seamus Heaney HomePlace on the Summer Solstice, bringing music suffused with the hazy light of midsummer.  Chamber ensembles from the orchestra will perform a selection of uplifting gems for small groups – you’ll feel the warmth of the sun on your skin and bask in the flourishing of nature at its height, in this musical treat on the longest night of the year!

Working with an array of beautiful merino wool and silk fibres participants will be guided through the process of creating their own wet-felted artwork from the chosen theme, with additional detail added with needle felting. All materials are provided.  Andrea Hayes works from her home studio in Cookstown, County Tyrone and has won numerous textile art awards and exhibited throughout Ireland.  She graduated from the National College of Art and Design in Dublin where she specialised in embroidered textiles. She draws inspiration from the vast array of textures, colours and dramatic skylines of the Irish landscape.

We all have a story to tell but sometimes we don’t know how to begin. This immersive one-day course looks at the genre of memoir and explores the ways we mine memories to bring our own lives to the page.  This course begins from the stepping off point that we are all creative. By immersing ourselves in the moment and giving ourselves permission to write, our own individual stories take shape.  Kathy Donaghy is a journalist and author, living and working in Inishowen, County Donegal. Her debut novel _Finding My Wild_ was published in 2013. She is a regular contributor and columnist with the _Irish Independent_. She also writes for _Lonely Planet _and _Sunday Miscellany_ and runs creative writing courses with the Irish Writers Centre in Dublin.

Featuring Liz Weir, Vicky Mcfarland and Anne Harper. In this newly commissioned piece merging words and music, let yourself be wrapped in tales of land, birth, death, magic and madness.  Through a blend of storytelling, live music and visual imagery, this unique collaboration brings together internationally celebrated storyteller Liz Weir MBE, pioneer in immersive storytelling, Vicky McFarland who blends live performance with digital technology, and composer and harpist Anne Harper.  _Cloak of Wisdom_ promises to be a transformative experience, sparking discussion and inviting audiences to rethink their understanding of the feminine story.  LUNCH IS INCLUDED IN THE TICKET PRICE AND WILL BE PROVIDED BY THE WONDERFUL HOMEPLACE CAFÉ. GRAB YOUR TICKETS QUICK AS WE HAVE LIMITED SEATING IN THE STRAND ROOM FOR WHAT PROMISES TO BE A FANTASTIC AFTERNOON.

With Carol O' Doherty and Patricia Broderick A story is always better if you have someone to share it with and what better spot to meet and share stories than HomePlace? Join Carol and Patricia for this relaxed and friendly book club. Meeting monthly, the Club will choose accessible and entertaining books relating to themes found in Seamus Heaney's work. Come along for a cup of tea, entertaining conversation and shared love of a good book! September's book will be 'At the Edge of the Orchard' by Tracy Chevalier.