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Seamus Heaney HomePlace
Arts & literary centre in Bellaghy, Northern Ireland From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Seamus Heaney HomePlace is an arts and literary centre in Bellaghy, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It displays the life and work of Seamus Heaney.
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, Liam Neeson,[1] 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.
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Site
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It stands on the former site of the abandoned Bellaghy Royal Ulster Constabulary barracks,[2] which the Mid Ulster District Council bought in the late 1990s during the demilitarization of Northern Ireland.[3] The site measures 21,000 square feet (1,950 m2) in area.[4]
Architecture
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The centre was designed by W&M Given Architects.[5][6] The company, quoted in a report by the Department for Communities, says the building was intended to reflect vernacular architecture within Bellaghy:
The design draws on the built heritage of the area, giving the site a direct relationship with the village street front and public open space. The composition of the building forms are a contemporary response to farm settlement clusters common throughout the South Derry area.
— Philip Hutchinson (Project Architect), Heritage Asset Audit: Bellaghy Area, pg. 20[7]
Exterior
The building incorporates the basalt stone that made the wall of the barracks in its facade and surrounding walls.[8] It intends to combine both modern and historical architecture,[9] with Rachel Cooke for The Observer describing it as "vaguely Scandinavian",[10] using only stone, glass, and wood.[11] The front landscaping is a paved circular area made "to encourage gatherings for community activity and performances."[12] There is a car park specifically for the centre[13] and a back yard.
Interior
It has two floors,[9][14] containing the biographical and artistic exhibition titled Seamus Heaney: Man and Boy.[8][15][note 1] 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,[17] Heaney's leather schoolbag, and his school desk.[11] 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.[11] The Helicon[note 2] is a 190-seat performance space situated in the rear side of the building.[19] There is also a café.[20]
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History
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Construction
Construction began in January 2015,[4] contracted to Brendan Loughran & Sons Ltd.[12] It finished in September the following year and cost £4.25 million to complete.[21][22]
Opening
The inaugural opening took place on the evening of September 29, 2016, attended by Heaney's surviving family,[23] before opening to the public the following day.[24][25] The opening festival was attended by singer-songwriter Paul Brady, and poets Michael Longley and Gerald Dawe.[26]
Operation
The centre is managed by Heaney's nephew, Brian McCormick.[27][28] It takes an estimated £500k to run annually.[29]
It was visited by then Prince Charles and wife Camilla in May 2017 during their trip to Ireland.[30][31] There, he gave a speech about Seamus Heaney and the centre:
What is so encouraging, too, is the way this centre, like Seamus Heaney's work itself, reaches out across different communities, different cultures and different nations, finding, as he did, a universal voice with the accent of a particular place.
— Charles, Prince of Wales, Seamus Heaney Homeplace: Speech; May 2017[32]
In 2019, it had accumulated a debt of £1 million.[33][34] The Mid Ulster Council went to the United States which an Irish News report claimed was an attempt to search for funding.[33] This was denied by a spokesperson.[35]
In 2021, the centre opened the Open Ground[note 3] exhibition, which allows visitors to go to five locations related to Heaney's poetry, from the Strand in Lough Beg to an alleyway in nearby Magherafelt.[37][38] These locations provide "listening posts" where his poetry is read aloud and a panel where the poem is interpreted.[37][39] It cost £750k to develop.[37]
In March 2023, the HomePlace announced they would be holding an event on Seamus Heaney's 10th death anniversary.[40][41] The event was held between August 25–27[42] and was attended by ten poets, including Paul Muldoon, Niall Campbell, Emma Must, and Owen Sheers.[40] Musician Colm Mac Con Iomaire also performed at the event.[40] 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.[40][43]
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Reception
Christopher Heaney, Seamus's son, said his father would have been "awed" by the centre.[44]
It has won numerous awards, including the 2017 AHI Award,[45] 2017 Excellence for Built Heritage Award,[46] 2017 Best Local Authority Tourism Initiative,[47] 2017 Best Visitor and Interpretation Centre,[48] multiple Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards, and Tourism NI's 2022 Most Innovative Business (Large) award.[49]
It received around 40,000 visitors in its first year.[50][51]
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Notes
References
External links
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