Seamus Heaney HomePlace to open this autumn

The Seamus Heaney HomePlace will open its doors this autumn.

The announcement has been made by Mid-Ulster District Council.
The weekend of celebrations begins on September 30.

The new £4m centre in Bellaghy celebrates the life and work of the poet and Nobel Laureate.

Irish singer-songwriter, Paul Brady, headlines musically, with other performances by traditional musicians.

Celebrated writers – many of them Seamus Heaney’s friends – from Tom Paulin and Julie O’Callaghan to John Horgan and Olivia O’Leary will also be taking part, and a unique classical music experience, ‘Bach to Broagh’, will see renowned cellist Christian Poltéra play three of Bach’s Cello Suites – intercut with readings of Heaney poems – on a 1711 Stradivarius.

Aspiring writers and actors from the Bellaghy area and from the Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry at Queen’s University Belfast, also feature at the event.

The ‘Off The Cuff’ theatre group from Magherafelt will be staging a production of Seamus Heaney’s ‘The Burial at Thebes’.

The opening weekend programme runs from Friday 30 September to Monday 3 October, and sets the scene for a year-long programme of events ‘12 Books, 12 Months.'

Each month will focus on one of Seamus Heaney’s twelve main collections of poetry in chronological order, beginning with Death of a Naturalist in October and concluding with Human Chain.

Full programme details and tickets for the opening weekend will be released in August.