Seamus Heaney HomePlace Museum

In the first week of our trip, after a day of orientation and rest, we took our first excursion: a long and bumpy bus ride from Corrymeela to Seamus Heaney HomePlace in Bellaghy. While the journey there was hot and nausea-inducing for a lot of us, the discomfort was well worth the destination.

It was a beautiful day, so we ate our packed lunches outside, surrounded by the stone walls and high grasses of the farming community that Seamus Heaney grew up in.

We began the experience with a workshop taught by a professor from Ulster University in Coleraine. Our workshop leader gave us a brief overview of the Northern Ireland conflict—“the Troubles”—to provide us with context for some of Heaney’s work. Then, Heaney’s rich, earthy voice narrated his poem “Casualty” as we read along. Our group ranged from those of us with minimal exposure to the world of poetry to poetry enthusiasts, but we were all moved and able to draw different inferences and interpretations from the text.

After the workshop, we were free to walk around the museum and experience more of Heaney’s life and poetry at our own pace.

 

 

 

 

Most of us ended up in the coffee shop.