Free Belfast conference marks 60 years since Seamus Heaney’s Death of a Naturalist

The late poet Seamus Heaney

Tuesday 8 September 2026

A landmark collection that transformed Seamus Heaney from a young Co Derry writer into one of the most recognisable poetic voices of his generation will be celebrated at a free two-day conference in Belfast this week.

Digging at 60: From the Archives will take place at the Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen’s University Belfast on Friday 11 and Saturday 12 September.

The event marks 60 years since the publication of Death of a Naturalist, the collection that brought Heaney’s rural upbringing, local language and memories of home to an international readership.

The collection that launched a remarkable career

First published in 1966, Death of a Naturalist included some of Heaney’s best-known poems, among them Digging, Mid-Term Break, Blackberry-Picking and Scaffolding.

Drawing heavily on his childhood at Mossbawn, near Bellaghy, the collection established Heaney as a poet of place whose local accents and autobiographical voice marked a new direction in 20th-century Irish poetry.

The same year brought two other significant milestones: Heaney accepted a lectureship at his alma mater, Queen’s University Belfast, and made his first appearance on Ireland’s The Late Late Show, reading Blackberry-Picking to a mass television audience.

He would go on to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1995 and become one of the most widely read poets of his generation.

Archives, research and Heaney’s early work

The anniversary conference will examine Heaney’s early career, his first major collection and surviving television and radio material.

It is being organised by the Seamus Heaney Centre in partnership with the National Library of Ireland, Emory University’s Rose Library and Queen’s University’s Special Collections.

Speakers and contributors include Dr Rosie Lavan of Trinity College Dublin; Stephen Enniss of the Harry Ransom Center; Críostóir Mac Cárthaigh of the National Library of Ireland; Professor Glenn Patterson, director of the Seamus Heaney Centre; and Dr Adam Hanna of University College Cork.

Professor Patterson said:

“‘Digging at 60’ is an opportunity to celebrate Seamus Heaney’s work on a number of fronts at a critical moment in his development, and an opportunity for us at the Seamus Heaney Centre to discuss with colleagues and collaborators, nationally and internationally — and anyone who is interested in coming along — aspects of our unique Seamus Heaney broadcast archive.”

Live music, workshops and film screening

The programme begins with coffee and registration at 9.30am on Friday, followed by panel discussions examining Heaney’s work, television appearances, environmental memory and his connection to Bellaghy.

Friday evening will include a celebration of the Seamus Heaney Centre’s first album, This is it, Yeah, featuring readings and live music from Mark McCambridge of Arborist.

Saturday’s programme begins at 10am and includes a keynote address from Dr Rosie Lavan, a discussion on producing poetry and presentations highlighting material from the centre’s collections.

Two free creative workshops will also be held on Saturday afternoon: The Alternative Archive, a zine-making session led by Marcella McSweeney, and Trust Your Voice: In the Digital Film Archives, led by Vincent Kinnaird and Conall McCauley.

Places at the workshops must be booked separately.

The conference will conclude with a special screening of Hammond: Duais an Dorais (A Parting Gift) at Queen’s Film Theatre from 4.30pm until 5.30pm on Saturday.

The film explores the life and work of singer, filmmaker and broadcaster David Hammond and is being presented in association with DoubleBand Films.

Anyone registered for Saturday’s conference programme can attend the screening free of charge. Other members of the public can purchase a ticket through the Queen’s Film Theatre website.

How to attend

Digging at 60: From the Archives takes place on Friday 11 and Saturday 12 September at the Seamus Heaney Centre, 38–40 University Road, Belfast, BT7 1NN, with the final film screening held at Queen’s Film Theatre.

Attendance at the conference is free, but advance registration is essential.

Full programme and registration details are available here.

Tickets for the film screening, for anyone not registered to attend Saturday’s conference, are available here.

Six decades after Death of a Naturalist first brought the sights, sounds and language of Heaney’s Co Derry childhood to a worldwide audience, the anniversary offers readers, researchers and admirers an opportunity to revisit the work that began his extraordinary public career.