On the 10th of January, the Year 13 English class journeyed to Bellaghy to explore the Seamus Heaney HomePlace centre. The centre itself pays homage to the poet’s work and life, the downstairs section housing an exhibit dedicated to Heaney’s home life with poems narrated by Heaney himself with the tour being taken by Sheila Fullerton. The upstairs has a ‘word hoard’ of Heaney’s colloquialisms and an exhibit with his inspirations and a recreation of his actual office in Dublin. A guest speaker from Queen’s then gave an insightful lecture on the poetry covered in AS English with dynamic workshops afterwards with English degree students leading the groups. All of this helped us to understand and enlighten the poems and context of his life better in an interactive, exciting environment, out of the classroom and with homemade soup and wheaten bread.

Emma Murphy Yr13