Laurel Villa Tours Of Seamus Heaney Country

About

Poet Seamus Heaney (b. 1939 d. 2013) was one of Ireland's best loved public figures and one of the world's greatest writers.

Take a bespoke guided tour of his native South Derry, to find out more about the people, places and countryside that inspired Ireland's greatest poet.

'Rich, quality content, full of unexpected joys, beautiful images and then, ultimately, a feeling of sheer satisfaction and pleasure... One of the best guided tours I have ever done' - The Irish Times

Begin this unique and absorbing tour at the award winning Laurel Villa Townhouse in Magherafelt, Ireland's only poetry guesthouse. Your guide is Eugene Kielt an experienced Blue Badge tour guide who has been conducting specialist tours of Heaney Country for many years. Browse the Seamus Heaney Exhibition at Laurel Villa and view the rare Heaney special editions and memorabilia relating to the great man.

You will be able to see his birthplace at Mossbawn and retrace the footsteps of the young Seamus Heaney on his way to school in the 1940s.

'One of the top ten outdoor activities in Ireland' - The Guardian

Your tour will bring you to places synonymous with Seamus Heaney, including the villages of Castledawson, Bellaghy and Toome.

Along the way you will visit The Turf Man, a life-size representation of Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney's most famous poem Digging as well as a number of key places from the poet's 'first world' that were to provide the inspiration for much of his work.

'Under the undivided Irish sky the poet’s words lived as fresh as the day he’d dug them from an internal landscape' - Sunday Telegraph Review

Your tour guide is:
Eugene Kielt, BA (Hons), Certin Tour Guiding,Member of N.Ireland Tourist Guide Association
A Blue Badge tour guide for over 20 years. With Gerardine, he runs Laurel Villa guest house, a mecca for poetry fans for many years and venue for the On Home Ground festival.

You can book tea and scones, lunches and accommodation here as well as Heaney tours.