Seamus Heaney HomePlace in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, has welcomed more than 40,000 visitors in its first year.

The Heaney family at the official opening of HomePlace in 2016

HomePlace opened in the village of Bellaghy last September, aiming to draw 35,000 people to experience the journey through the Nobel Prize winning poet’s life and literature in an exhibition space filled with personal stories, photographs and artefacts.

Owned and operated by Mid Ulster District Council, the 2,000 square metre (21,500 square feet) arts and literary centre celebrates its first anniversary this weekend (29 September – 1 October).

Visitors from almost 20 countries – including the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, China and Japan – have all made their mark on the map in the centre which allows visitors to pinpoint their own ‘home place’.

Prominent cultural, literary and political figures have been frequent visitors over the course of the centre’s first year, including actors of the calibre of Adrian Dunbar, Stephen Rea and Fiona Shaw and renowned poets and authors from Michael Longley and Sinead Morrissey to Michael Morpurgo and Louis de Bernieres.

HRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall visited in May an other noted but unannounced visitors have included everyone from Dame Mary Peters and Ralph McTell to those with personal connections to Seamus Heaney and his poetry, such as Boston firefighter Bobby Breen who features in the poem ‘Helmet’.

Reflecting on the success of the first year, Chair of Mid Ulster District Council, Councillor Kim Ashton, said: “The local, national and international response to Seamus Heaney HomePlace over the past year has been quite remarkable. Whether people come to the centre knowing Seamus Heaney’s work or being unfamiliar with it, the HomePlace experience moves and inspires them and we have hundreds and hundreds of comment cards from visitors of all ages, backgrounds and nationalities that tell us so.

“I believe that HomePlace quite simply tells us a story, but a very personal one, of an ordinary boy from an ordinary rural place who, while he grew up to become one of our greatest writers, never lost the connections with and passion for his roots. That is what speaks to people when they visit HomePlace.”

Janet Redler, Chief Executive of Janet Redler Travel & Tourism, said: “Just a 45 drive from Belfast and Londonderry, HomePlace provides a fascinating insight into the life and literature of Seamus Heaney and is well worth a visit for anyone touring Northern Ireland. A journey to Bellaghy is also the perfect way to experience the countryside and places that inspired the Nobel Prize winning poet.”

If you or your group would like to enjoy a visit to Seamus Heaney HomePlace on a tailor-made tour of Northern Ireland, please do contact our friendly team.