In the Footsteps of Seamus Heaney Tour - Private Car Tour

Itinerary
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Stop At: Queen's University, Belfast, Northern Ireland

The beautiful Lanyon Building at Queens is one of Belfast's landmark architectural gems, but adjacent to this is the Seamus Heaney Library, dedicated in his honour as both student and teacher.

Duration: 30 minutes

Stop At: The Crosskeys Inn

We will take a detour to take in the panorama of Seamus Heaney's beloved South Derry, a living breathing map of the places celebrated in his work. We will stop at the ancient coaching inn at Crosskeys for some refreshments.

Duration: 30 minutes

Stop At: The Old Thatch Inn

This ancient pub sits beside Mossbawn, the birthplace of Seamus Heaney in 1939. A modern house now sits on the site of the Heaney HomeStead, but it was at this roadside that Heaney's young brother Christopher was killed and who he remembers in his moving poem 'Mid Term Break'.

Duration: 10 minutes

Stop At: Lough Neagh Fishermens Co-operative Society Ltd

In his seminal poem 'The Lough Neagh Sequence' Heaney charts the astonishing journey of the Lough Neagh Eel from the Sargasso Sea, across the Atlantic and upriver on the Bann to Lough Neagh. On this visit you will see the existing Fishery which keeps the tradition of Eel Fishing alive in this community.

Duration: 25 minutes

Stop At: Castledawson GAC

We will take in the local GAA grounds where the Heaney's played Gaelic Football, then pass by the Forge at Hillhead, which features in one of Seamus Heaney's earliest poems from A Door Into the Dark.

Duration: 10 minutes

Stop At: Newferry Watersports Centre

We will not be taking to the water, but we will visit The Strand at Lough Beg, Seamus Heaney's 'favourite place in the world'. Here you will listen to his poem of that name that commemorates his cousin who was murdered during the Troubles.

Duration: 30 minutes

Stop At: Seamus Heaney HomePlace

Before we visit the Seamus Heaney HomePlace, we will stop for lunch at the adjacent Tap House Bar and Restaurant. The HomePlace is a purpose built museum the pays homage to the great poet and his lifetime's work. During your tour you can hear Seamus hauntingly reading his own poems as you take a journey through his life.

Duration: 2 hours

Stop At: St Mary's Roman Catholic Church

When Seamus Heaney died in August 2013, he took the local community by surprise by choosing his native Bellaghy as his final resting place. He he lies, his gravestone facing westwards over his beloved Tamlaghduff with the simple epitaph 'Walk on Air Against Your Better Judgement'.

Duration: 15 minutes

Stop At: The Turf Man

Seamus Heaney's final public act for this community in Bellaghy was the unveiling in April 2008 of The Turf Man by artist David Annand. Inspired by his seminal poem 'Digging', Seamus said of the sculpture at its unveiling, 'it is the right image, in the right place'.

Duration: 15 minutes