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06 Sept 2025
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06 Sept 2025
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Few writers and poets need little to no introduction, and Seamus Heaney is undoubtedly up there in the pantheon of Irish literature. Westport House is currently home to an exhibtion about Heaney's life, presented by the National Library of Ireland.
“We are absolutely delighted to welcome the Seamus Heaney exhibition,” says Kathryn Connolly, curator at Westport House: “It is fantastic to see it opening here in the West of Ireland as most exhibitions are exclusively available in Dublin. And Westport House is the perfect venue, placed in our beautiful Long Gallery.”
The exhibition in Westport House is the travelling version of the main one housed in the National Library of Ireland. Its title 'Listen now again' is a fittingly grounded name for a very down-to-earth person, as Kathryn Connolly describes Heaney's personality: “People connect to his poetry because of his groundness and down-to-earth mentality, he was not an aloof figure at all.”
Visitors get an opportunity to learn about the extraordinary life and work of Heaney, himself a winner of the Nobel Prize for luterature.
And not just a great occasion for tourists and locals alike, but also for leaving cert students as Seamus Heaney is part of the curriculum. So students who may not get to go to Dublin for the corresponding exhibition might find a visit to Westport House useful for their research.
“We actually opened our house earlier this year specifically for this exhibition. Usually we would not be open to the public in February,” added Connolly.
The exhibition is free of charge and is located in the Long Gallery and everyone who comes to visit Westport House is free to enjoy it. It runs until February 18.
Pictured above at the opening of ”Seamus Heaney: Listen Now Again," at Westport House were, from left: Mary Hughes, Cathal Hughes, Harry Hughes, Ann McGovern, Audrey Whitty, Director of the National Library of Ireland; Cllr Michael Loftus, Cathaoirleach Mayo County Council; Austin Vaughan, Mayo County Library, Cllr Christy Hyland and Vincent Hughes. Pic: Conor McKeown
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