Latest news with #SeamusHeaney
BreakingNews.ie
5 hours ago
- General
- BreakingNews.ie
50th anniversary of Seamus Heaney's landmark collection on Troubles to be marked
The 50th anniversary of the publication of Seamus Heaney's collection North, which saw the poet directly address the Northern Ireland Troubles for the first time, is to be marked. A three-day conference at the Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen's University Belfast will bring together experts from around the world to discuss the significance of the Nobel laureate poet's landmark work. Advertisement The event, in partnership with Trinity College Dublin, takes place from June 5th-7th and will also mark the first anniversary of the Belfast venue. Poet Paul Muldoon will be among those taking part in the event at the Seamus Heaney Centre (Liam McBurney/PA) Heaney, who died in 2013, was one of the world's best known modern poets. Pulitzer prize-winning poet Paul Muldoon and Professor Edna Longley will be among authors, academics and poets discussing the significance of North 50 years on. There will also be a family friendly traditional music session and a screening of the documentary Heaney in Limboland, made for TV in 1970 and featuring Heaney's views on the rapidly deteriorating political situation in Northern Ireland. Advertisement Upon publication in 1975, the American poet Robert Lowell said North represented 'a new kind of political poetry by the best Irish poet since WB Yeats' and the anthology went on to win awards including the Duff Cooper Memorial Prize and the WH Smith Memorial Prize. Heaney himself admitted the collection took a 'hammering' from other quarters, closer to home, for its representation of violence and gender politics. Many academics consider it to be a key moment in the evolution of Heaney from a significant Irish poet to a poet of international standing, culminating in his winning of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1995. Director of the Seamus Heaney Centre, Professor Glenn Patterson said: 'Whichever way you come at it, in admiration, in awe or in search of an argument, there is no understanding poetry from these islands in the past half century, without North. Advertisement 'There are not many books, of any kind, that merit an 'at 50' conference, but North seems only to grow in significance with every year that passes, and with every year that passes to attract new readers, and new critical thinking.' The poet's daughter Catherine Heaney, said: 'We are proud and honoured that the 50th anniversary of North is being marked with this conference, alongside Faber's reissue of the volume in its original jacket. 'The publication was such a seminal moment in my father's life and career and it is testament to its staying power that, five decades on, it continues to resonate with readers and inspire scholarly debate.' Dr Stephen O'Neill from Trinity College Dublin said: 'Written under the strain of what Seamus Heaney called 'a very high pressure', North was a landmark in his writing career. Advertisement 'It was and is also a landmark in criticism, as a subject for many of the leading critics of Irish literature then and now. 'Organised to coincide with Faber's anniversary republication of the volume, the conference is a chance to reflect upon the impact of Heaney's fourth collection and reassess its reception.' All events will take place at the Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen's. Attendance is free but registration is required.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
50th anniversary of Seamus Heaney's landmark collection on Troubles to be marked
The 50th anniversary of the publication of Seamus Heaney's collection North, which saw the poet directly address the Northern Ireland Troubles for the first time, is to be marked. A three-day conference at the Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen's University Belfast will bring together experts from around the world to discuss the significance of the Nobel laureate poet's landmark work. The event, in partnership with Trinity College Dublin, takes place from June 5-7 and will also mark the first anniversary of the Belfast venue. Heaney, who died in 2013, was one of the world's best known modern poets. Pulitzer prize-winning poet Paul Muldoon and Professor Edna Longley will be among authors, academics and poets discussing the significance of North 50 years on. There will also be a family friendly traditional music session and a screening of the documentary Heaney in Limboland, made for TV in 1970 and featuring Heaney's views on the rapidly deteriorating political situation in Northern Ireland. Upon publication in 1975, the American poet Robert Lowell said North represented 'a new kind of political poetry by the best Irish poet since WB Yeats' and the anthology went on to win awards including the Duff Cooper Memorial Prize and the WH Smith Memorial Prize. Heaney himself admitted the collection took a 'hammering' from other quarters, closer to home, for its representation of violence and gender politics. Many academics consider it to be a key moment in the evolution of Heaney from a significant Irish poet to a poet of international standing, culminating in his winning of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1995. Director of the Seamus Heaney Centre, Professor Glenn Patterson said: 'Whichever way you come at it, in admiration, in awe or in search of an argument, there is no understanding poetry from these islands in the past half century, without North. 'There are not many books, of any kind, that merit an 'at 50' conference, but North seems only to grow in significance with every year that passes, and with every year that passes to attract new readers, and new critical thinking.' The poet's daughter Catherine Heaney, said: 'We are proud and honoured that the 50th anniversary of North is being marked with this conference, alongside Faber's reissue of the volume in its original jacket. 'The publication was such a seminal moment in my father's life and career and it is testament to its staying power that, five decades on, it continues to resonate with readers and inspire scholarly debate.' Dr Stephen O'Neill from Trinity College Dublin said: 'Written under the strain of what Seamus Heaney called 'a very high pressure', North was a landmark in his writing career. 'It was and is also a landmark in criticism, as a subject for many of the leading critics of Irish literature then and now. 'Organised to coincide with Faber's anniversary republication of the volume, the conference is a chance to reflect upon the impact of Heaney's fourth collection and reassess its reception.' All events will take place at the Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen's. Attendance is free but registration is required.
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Irish writers up for CWA Dagger awards
In The Irish Times this Saturday, Elaine Feeney tells Laura Slattery about her latest novel, Let Me Go Mad in My Own Way. Stephen O'Neill reflects on the 50th anniversary of Seamus Heaney's landmark collection, North, in advance of a big conference in Queen's University Belfast. Hazel Gaynor, author of Before Dorothy , her imagining of the backstory of Aunt Em in The Wizard of Oz, reflects on the importance of aunts. And there is a Q&A with Ciara Geraghty about her career and her first book for children. Reviews are Adrienne Murphy on Esotericism in Western Culture: Counter-Normativity and Rejected Knowledge by Wouter J Hanegraaff, The Witch Studies Reader edited by Soma Chaudhuri and Jane Ward, and Shamanism by Manvir Singh; Peter Murphy on Sam Tallent's Running the Light; Adam Wyeth on The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey; Declan Ryan on the best new poetry; Éilís Ní Dhuibhne on Let Me Go Mad in My Own Way by Elaine Feeney; Ruby Eastwood on Sister Europe by Nell Zink; Gladys Ganiel on Tom Inglis's Unbecoming Catholic: Being Religious in Contemporary Ireland; Malachi O'Doherty on Kincora: Britain's Darkest Secret by Chris Moore; Pat Carty on Air by John Boyne; Rabeea Saleem on The Names by Florence Knapp; Pat Nugent on Never Flinch by Stephen King; John Walshe on Deadly Silence: A Sister's Battle to Uncover the Truth Behind the Murder of Clodagh and Her Sons by Alan Hawe by Jacqueline Connolly; Ray Burke on For Valerie by David French; and Diarmuid Hester on Katie Goh's Foreign Fruit. This weekend's Irish Times Eason offer is The Coast Road by Alan Murrin, just €5.99, a €6 saving. Eason offer Tana French has been shortlisted for the prestigious CWA Gold Dagger award for her latest thriller, The Hunter. Also shortlisted are D V Bishop for A Divine Fury ; R J Ellory for The Bell Tower ; Attica Locke for Guide Me Home ; Anna Mazzola for Book of Secrets ; and Bonnie Burke-Patel for I Died at Fallow Hall . READ MORE Stuart Neville has been shortlisted for the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger award for Blood Like Mine ; Also shortlisted are: Lou Berney for Dark Ride ; M W Craven for Nobody's Hero ; Garry Disher for Sanctuary ; Abir Mukherjee for Hunted ; and Don Winslow for City in Ruins . Frank Wynne's translation of Pierre Lemaitre's Going to the Dogs is shortlisted for the crime fiction in translation prize along with Hervé Le Corre's Dogs and Wolves, tr. Howard Curtis; Akira Otani's The Night of Baby Yaga, tr. Sam Bett; Satu Rämö's The Clues in the Fjord, tr. Kristian London; Asako Yuzuki's Butter, tr. Polly Barton; and Alia Trabucco Zerán's Clean, tr. Sophie Hughes Andrew Hughes has been shortlisted for the Twisted Dagger award for Emma, Disappeared . Also shortlisted are Amanda Jennings for Beautiful People ; John Marrs for The Stranger In Her House ; CS Robertson for The Trials Of Marjorie Crowe; Tracy Sierra for Nightwatching ; and Catherine Steadman for Look In The Mirror . The winners will be announced at a gala dinner on July 3rd. * The UCD Festival returns on Saturday, June 7th, with over 100 free events taking place across the Belfield campus. Broadcaster Rick O'Shea curates the literary strand with an eclectic mix of established and emerging authors. Belfast writer Jan Carson and poet and novelist Paul Perry will provide some reading inspiration with Shelf Analysis, sharing the books they love. UCD's writer in residence, Annemarie Ní Churreáin, and poet Moya Cannon will explore the Poetry of Folklore. Author Roisín O'Donnell, crime writer Claire Coughlan and soon-to-be debut novelist Sylvia Leatham will discuss new fiction writing. Writer and disability advocate Sinead Burke will be in conversation with journalist and UCD alumna Roe McDermott, exploring the power of representation, and Reeling in the Queers author Páraic Kerrigan will be in conversation with Chandrika Naryanan-Mohan about the fight for LGBTQ rights. Saturday, 7 June, UCD Belfield. Free, with some booking required. See . * Timothy O'Grady will be in conversation with journalist Dorothy Allen at the official London launch of his latest novel, Monaghan, in the Irish Cultural Centre, Hammersmith, on Thursday, June 12th, at 7.30pm. Entry is £8. A dual launch of Monaghan and Goldengrove by Patrick McCabe takes place at Whelan's, Wexford Street, Dublin, on June 25th at 7pm with readings by the authors and actor Stephen Rea plus songs from Cathy Jordan. Admission is free. * On July 9th, the West Cork History Festival will host a discussion on the history and current context of Irish neutrality at the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin. For many, neutrality is a fundamental pillar of Irish foreign policy and central to an idea of how Ireland presents itself in the world; yet, in the context of new threats and the retreat by the US, a fundamental reordering is under way in Europe. What does this mean for Ireland's defence, security and co-operation with our neighbours? Prof Eunan O'Halpin will provide an overview of the history of Irish neutrality. Journalist Misha Glenny will offer a contemporary perspective from central and eastern Europe. This will be followed by a panel discussion in which Eunan and Misha will be joined by Catherine Connolly TD, Vice Admiral Mark Mellett, and Prof Patrick Keatinge. Tickets and more information are available here 2025 Festival – West Cork History Festival * In Leadership: Nobody Ever Made a Difference by Being Like Everyone Else , Deloitte tax partner and author Tom Maguire engages with prominent Irish leaders, including former President Mary McAleese, to explore the essence of effective leadership. Through candid conversations, the book delves into themes such as integrity, resilience and the balance between professional and personal life. Highlighting the shared value of integrity among diverse leaders, it offers insights applicable from the boardroom to the community. All royalties from the book are being donated to Our Lady's Hospice in Harold's Cross, continuing Maguire's tradition of supporting meaningful causes through his publications. * The Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen's University Belfast is marking the 50th anniversary of Seamus Heaney's landmark collection North – which saw the Nobel Prize-winning poet directly address the Troubles for the first time. A three-day conference from June 5th-7th, in partnership with Trinity College Dublin, will bring together Heaney experts from across the world to the beautiful new Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen's – celebrating its first anniversary also in June. Paul Muldoon and Prof Edna Longley will gather to hear distinguished authors, academics and poets discuss the significance of North 50 years on. There will also be a family-friendly traditional music session and a screening of the documentary Heaney in Limboland , made for TV in 1970 and featuring Heaney's views on the rapidly deteriorating political situation in Northern Ireland. North is still considered a controversial volume. Upon publication in 1975, the American poet Robert Lowell said it represented 'a new kind of political poetry by the best Irish poet since WB Yeats' and the anthology went on to win awards including the Duff Cooper Memorial Prize and the WH Smith Memorial Prize. Heaney himself admitted the collection took a 'hammering' from other quarters, closer to home, for its representation of violence and gender politics. Director of the Seamus Heaney Centre, Prof Glenn Patterson said: 'Whichever way you come at it, in admiration, in awe or in search of an argument, there is no understanding poetry from these islands in the past half century, without North . 'There are not many books, of any kind, that merit an 'at 50' conference, but North seems only to grow in significance with every year that passes, and with every year that passes to attract new readers, and new critical thinking.' The poet's daughter Catherine Heaney, who is hoping to attend the conference, said on behalf of the Estate of Seamus Heaney: 'We are proud and honoured that the 50th anniversary of North is being marked with this conference, alongside Faber's reissue of the volume in its original jacket. 'The publication of North was such a seminal moment in my father's life and career and it is testament to its staying power that, five decades on, it continues to resonate with readers and inspire scholarly debate.' Lead organiser of the conference and Queen's graduate, Dr Stephen O'Neill from Trinity College Dublin said: 'Written under the strain of what Seamus Heaney called 'a very high pressure', North was a landmark in his writing career. It was and is also a landmark in criticism, as a subject for many of the leading critics of Irish literature then and now. 'Organised to coincide with Faber's anniversary republication of the volume, the conference is a chance to reflect upon the impact of Heaney's fourth collection and reassess its reception.' All events will take place at the Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen's, 38-40 University Road, Belfast (unless otherwise stated). The full conference programme is available here . Attendance is free, but registration is essential.
Irish Independent
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Independent
Letters: As others now follow, Ireland was correct to criticise Israel over Gaza offensive
As your editorial makes plain, what is happening is not the regrettable consequence of war, but a wilful abandonment of humanity ('Immorality of Israel knows no bounds as the world looks on', Irish Independent, May 21). Let us be clear: the attacks of October 7 by Hamas were abhorrent. No decent person can defend such brutality. But horror cannot justify horror. Collective punishment is not justice: it is the collapse of all moral restraint. When Ireland and Spain, along with Norway and Belgium, first condemned Israel's actions, they were criticised, even scorned. But they were right. What once seemed a fringe position now echoes across capitals from London to Ottawa and Paris. Ireland, once again, showed moral clarity before others found their voices. This is not about picking sides in a conflict. It is about upholding the basic principles that are meant to protect civilians everywhere. As Seamus Heaney once said: 'If we winter this one out, we can summer anywhere.' But Gaza has been made to winter endlessly, while the world has stood by. Those who justify or excuse mass displacement and the deaths of children in pursuit of political or military ends have no place in any conversation about peace. Silence is not neutrality: it is complicity. And Ireland stood when others wavered. Enda Cullen, Tullysaran Road, Co Armagh Israeli people must stand strong and tell Netanyahu that enough is enough Night after night, our televisions bombard us with images that paint a stark and devastating picture of the Gaza Strip. We have witnessed bombardment after bombardment by Israeli missiles launched on civilian targets – hospitals, schools and residential areas. We have been inundated with images of young children killed or maimed, and parents left utterly distraught. It is time to call this what it is: pure and simple genocide. Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert himself said the Israeli offensive is now approaching 'a war crime'. Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, it appears, is seeking control of the entire Gaza Strip while allowing only minimal aid in. The international community is finally beginning to see this for what it is. ADVERTISEMENT Recently, the 24-year-old Eurovision singer and victim of the October 7 attacks, Yuval Raphael, was unfairly targeted with outrage and criticism that should have been firmly laid at the door of Netanyahu. The international community has now said 'enough is enough,' and the Israeli people themselves now need to rise up and say very clearly to their government 'enough is enough, and not in our name'. The hostages taken by Hamas on October 7 must be returned without further delay. That attack was an act of depravity perpetrated by a terrorist organisation that has no place in a decent world. However, the response has been disproportionate, with the majority of those killed in Gaza being innocent civilians, women and children. Enough really is enough. Killian Brennan, Clare Village, Dublin 17 A business opportunity with Qatar? Trump looks bang on the money there I would not be surprised to learn that US president Donald Trump has a new pronunciation for Qatar and that John O'Brien, Clonmel, Co Tipperary Many 'elite' in the West have a blind spot when it comes to the Middle East How many times can the Western 'elite and educated' be wrong? Within my lifetime they got it wrong so often. Dying Western empires thought they would always be superior. Winston Churchill couldn't understand why the Irish couldn't be more English, and Emmanuel Macron complained that African countries, formerly within their empire, didn't say thank you for his deployment of troops there to help fight terrorism. Racism in the US, apartheid in South Africa and discrimination in Ireland were all defended by versions of that so-called elite. Now it has taken years of profound suffering, thousands killed and aid blocked to prompt them to say something about the mind-numbing situation in Gaza (never mind the West Bank). Language and standards have been brutalised until humanitarian values are all but lost. If the dollars are still sent to Tel Aviv it can only lead to a deepening stain on humanity and yet another Western blind spot. Billy Leonard, Kilkee, Co Clare Tánaiste's words are all well and good, but action needed now on Palestine It is reported that the EU will order a review of its trade agreement with Israel, in the light of the deteriorating events in Palestine. Tánaiste Simon Harris has welcomed the announcement, saying: 'Today, a clear majority of member states agreed on the need to send a strong signal to Israel to reverse course.' Given that Ireland and Europe have failed for 20 months to do anything effective for the besieged people of Palestine, this is welcome. But we are really clutching at straws. This 'review' is too little, too late. No meaningless words or 'strong signals' are going to stop Israel now. What is needed is complete sanctions and a boycott. Ireland must stop military supplies travelling through Irish airspace and Shannon. These are actions Ireland can take immediately and independently. European counties must also stop supplying arms, and the EU-Israel trade agreement should be suspended. And Mr Harris should be lobbying for these measures. World leaders should consider assembling a multi-national force to break the siege of Gaza and bring in emergency supplies. The Tánaiste welcoming a review about strong signals is not going to achieve anything. To pretend otherwise is gross hypocrisy. Failure to take any real action amounts to collusion. Is this how Ireland wants to be remembered? Art Ó Laoghaire, Bray, Co Wicklow A United front or was EU's Ursula being a little Red Devil in Starmer's ear? Looking at the photo of Ursula von der Leyen, hand over mouth, talking to Keir Starmer, one has visions of her saying, 'just what the heck is going on at Manchester United?'. Tom Gilsenan, Beaumont, Dublin 9
BBC News
21-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Sean Brown's widow calls for answers 28 years after his murder
The wife of murdered GAA official Sean Brown has said she is still looking for answers about why her husband was 61-year-old was abducted and shot dead by members of the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) as he locked the gates of Bellaghy GAA club, County Londonderry, in Brown's family have long campaigned for a public inquiry to get answers about his Brown said her husband "walked with both sides of the community" and doesn't know why he was targeted. Earlier this month, the Court of Appeal affirmed a previous court ruling, compelling the UK government to hold a public inquiry into his government said it intends to seek a Supreme Court appeal over the have been two police investigations and a Police Ombudsman investigation into Mr Brown's murder. 'Why choose him?' Mrs Brown was speaking during her first long-form interview on BBC's The GAA Social podcast 28 years after Mr Brown's murder."I don't know why they chose Sean, I just do not know because he was the same with everybody," she said."He treated everybody alike, he walked with both sides of the community." The 87-year-old said months before his death, her husband organised a gathering to celebrate poet Seamus Heaney's Nobel Prize in Bellaghy GAA club."They had all come and had a great time so I don't know why," she added."That's the question - why choose him?" 'A nice man' Mrs Brown said she first met her husband while travelling to attend evening classes in Magherafelt, and would often meet up at a shop in the bought a house just one year before they got married in 1965, and the family has lived there ever said her husband was a "nice man" who was always looking out for the children in Bellaghy and was a keen athlete. Last week, thousands of people took part in The Walk For Truth in Bellaghy in support of the Brown came after the government said it will seek a Supreme Court appeal over a ruling compelling it to hold an Brown said she couldn't believe how many people came to support the family, adding there were mixed feelings."It was emotional," she said."Never in my wildest dreams had I thought about so big a turn out." Mrs Brown said while it's difficult to live with her husband's death, and the publicity around it, she "takes each day as it comes"."There's not a lot you can do," she added."It's still there at the back of your mind but [you] just carry on as normal as best as you can." What happened to Sean Brown? Mr Brown was locking the gates of GAA club Bellaghy Wolfe Tones when he was kidnapped by the Loyalist Volunteer Force ( LVF).Early last year, a court heard more than 25 people, including state agents, had been linked by intelligence material to Mr Brown's March 2024 a coroner said Mr Brown's inquest could not continue due to material being withheld on the grounds of national decided that redactions of intelligence material meant he could not properly investigate the circumstances of the he wrote to the then Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris, requesting a public inquiry into the case. In December, the High Court ruled Hilary Benn must set up a public inquiry into the government then appealed against that ruling, mounting a legal challenge to the Court of Lady Chief Justice Dame Siobhan Keegan said it was "a shocking state of affairs" that more than 25 years had passed but there had been no "lawful inquiry into the circumstances" of Mr Brown's that ruling, Mr Brown's family said Benn should "do the right thing".Mr Brown's widow spoke directly to the NI secretary, saying: "Five judges have told you what to do, do the right thing and please don't have me going to London." Listen to the full interview with Bridie Brown and Mr Brown's daughter, Clare Loughran, on The GAA Social podcast on BBC Sounds.
