Seamus Heaney HomePlace

Marcon carried out the intricate fit-out of the new exhibition at Seamus Heaney HomePlace in Bellaghy. The new visitor centre showcases the life and work of the late poet, bringing together an interactive exhibition, a 189-seater theatre and performance space, learning zones for children and adults as well as community space.

The new exhibition area is a fully immersive experience detailing the life of Seamus Heaney through the years.  The exhibition which is spread over two floors and designed by Tandem Design blends personal stories, artefacts, family photographs, video recordings and the voice of the poet himself reading his own words. There are evocative fragments from his early life, along with touchscreens, video and AV technology delivering the poems in Heaney’s own voice.

There’s even a re-creation of the poet’s Dublin attic study, complete with the fax machine which received hundreds of congratulations on his 1995 Nobel prize.

The exhibition takes the visitor on an interactive journey through Heaney’s life, from the earthy rural background of the childhood years on the ground floor, through education and intellectual flowering, to international distinction and acclaim in the light-filled upper storey with the feature ‘ripple’ ceiling feature (manufactured in the Marcon joinery workshop).

Seemingly banal items – a schoolbag, a spade, a football and the Velux window of his office – are transformed as you read and hear the words associated with them.