Derry to celebrate 50 years of Seamus Heaney’s North with community readings
Fifty years to the day since Seamus Heaney’s North was first published on June 9, 1975, a major city-wide celebration has been announced in Derry to honour this landmark collection and its continuing resonance.
On Saturday and Sunday, August 30 and 31, local residents from across Derry will read all 30 poems from North aloud in four public venues that include First Derry Presbyterian Church, The Gasyard and Lumen Christi College.
Each reader will lend their voice to a single poem, creating a city-wide tribute to Heaney.
The event is presented by Arts Over Borders as part of ‘Frieldays – A Homecoming 2025–2029’, a multi-year cultural programme celebrating literature and place.
Members of the local community are invited to take part in this live reading project, a unique opportunity to bring Heaney’s words to life in familiar voices and shared spaces.
Written during the height of the Troubles, North remains one of the most influential collections in Irish poetry. Half a century on, its reflections on belonging, history, and identity remain deeply relevant. The North readings dovetail with the 50th anniversary of Brian Friel’s play Volunteers, a coproduction with the Playhouse Derry, in the Ebrington Keep from August 29 to 31.
Seán Doran, General & Creative Director of Arts Over Borders, said: “North was the first time Seamus Heaney addressed the Troubles so directly, but he did so by reaching back 2,500 years into the Scandinavian North.
"The poems speak to the personal North of everyday life at the height of the Troubles as well as the ancient North of bog bodies and Viking ships.
"This Golden Anniversary Year is a chance to return North to the people and the public space through hearing the voices of those who call this place home.”
Arts Over Borders is now inviting expressions of interest from members of the public who would like to participate as readers. No prior performance experience is required. Full event details, including venues and times, will be announced in July.
To take part, email [email protected] with your name, age, a short note about your background or profession, and a few lines on why you’d like to be involved. The deadline to apply is June 16.
Tickets for the four North readings will go on sale in June and can be booked through www.artsoverborders.com