Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall recently visited the highly anticipated Seamus Heaney HomePlace in Bellaghy, Northern Ireland, as part of a four day trip to Ireland. The £4.2 million new arts and literacy centre celebrates the life and literature of the late Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney in his home town.
As part of the visit the royal couple met Seamus Heaney’s family and stopped to greet members of the local community who gathered to catch a glimpse of them entering the building. Prince Charles had a long interest in Seamus Heaney’s work and met him on a number of occasions. The Prince was even recorded reciting one of his poems. ‘The Shipping Forecast’, for the exhibition centre.
The centre was beautifully designed to the highest specification. The building was created with stone, timber and cladding finishes, bringing a collaboration of modern and traditional styles together, and the hard landscape was created with a combination of paving products from Tobermore to achieve a contemporary finish. Have a look at our Case Study on the Seamus Heaney HomePlace for a detailed insight into the design and construction of the project.
Additional highlights of Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall’s latest visit to Ireland included opening a PSNI memorial garden, an engagement at Kilkenny Castle, a tour of the United Nations Training School Ireland, a visit to the Irish National Stud and ceremonies at Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin. Tobermore also recently provided hard landscaping products for Dardistown Cemetery and Crematorium at Glasnevin.
