The reimagined space at the historic, listed buildings, 38 – 40 University Road and 3 Mount Charles, will be just a short walk from the main Lanyon Building at the heart of the Queen’s campus.
The new venue represents the next chapter for the Centre, whose original building was opened at a ceremony attended by Seamus Heaney himself in 2004.
With postgraduate student numbers in particular growing steadily in recent years, the new Centre’s vastly increased size – more than double that of the current building – will not just serve today’s needs but allow too for future growth. The Centre will feature an expanded poetry library, a large venue space,
teaching rooms, academic offices a ‘scriptorium’, with individual work stations for up to thirty students,
and an exhibition area to display the Seamus Heaney archive held by Queen’s, providing for the first time a focal point to promote the literary heritage of the University and Belfast.
The Centre will also create a Visiting International Seamus Heaney Chair in Creative Writing bringing
expertise and new perspectives to the expanding list of degree courses and activities, and engagement
programmes with educational and community groups in Belfast and across Northern Ireland.
The project will be funded by the University’s Capital Development programme and through
philanthropic donations from donors across the globe.