A new arts and literary centre is opening to honour the work of the Nobel Prize in Literature winner, Seamus Heaney.

HomePlace will mark the life and work of the Nobel Laureate and one of Ireland’s most celebrated writers, in Bellaghy, Co Derry.

An initiative of Mid Ulster District Council, HomePlace is supported by the Heaney family. It will comprise a 2,000sqm building offering a permanent exhibition, interpreting Seamus Heaney’s work through his connections with people and places.

The space, over two floors, will be peppered with personal stories and artefacts, dozens of family photographs, video recordings from friends, neighbours and cultural leaders, and the voice of the poet himself reading his own words.

To mark the opening of HomePlace, ‘The Nib Uncapped’, a four-day festival of literature, music, theatre, poetry, song, reading and talks, will commence on Friday, 30th September and run until Monday, 3rd October.