Library and Digital Archive

Our brand-new Library and Digital Archive opened in May 2021 after a substantial renovation.

Previously featuring a collection of books which were kindly loaned and donated to HomePlace by the Heaney family, our Library now also houses a handpicked selection of more than 800 titles, ranging from works by friends and contemporaries of Seamus Heaney to authors the poet himself enjoyed reading.

As well as providing comfortable seating and individual writing desks, making it an ideal space for browsing, reading and studying, our Library also features a Seamus Heaney Digital Archive which brings together radio and television broadcasts presented by or featuring the poet. Uniquely, the Archive also features an audio recording of an interview with Seamus Heaney that a former student has preserved for more than 40 years.

Visitors can also access a selection of online performances staged by HomePlace during the pandemic, including the ‘Keeping Going’ series and the special event marking the 25th anniversary of Heaney’s Nobel Prize in Literature ‘A Nobel Celebration – more spacewalk than stepping stone’.