Digging at 60: From the Archives 
11 – 12 September 2026, Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen's University, Belfast 

In 1966, Seamus Heaney published Death of a Naturalist, the collection that would launch his career and establish him firmly in the public eye as a poet of place whose local accents and autobiographical bent marked a new direction in twentieth century Irish poetry. In the same year, Heaney accepted a lectureship at his alma mater, Queen’s University Belfast, and made his first appearance on Ireland’s Late Late show, reading Blackberry Picking and gaining a mass audience thanks to the power of broadcast media. 

Few poets have received such close scholarly scrutiny during their lifetimes, and interest in Heaney’s work has not waned in the years since his passing. Many scholars interested in breaking new ground are now returning to archival sources to add context and glean further insight into his prolific career. 

To mark this anniversary the Seamus Heaney Centre, in partnership with the National Library of Ireland, Emory Rose Library, and Queen’s University’s Special Collections, invites papers from archivists and academics interested in Heaney’s early career, first collection, and broadcast paratexts. We are particularly interested in papers that draw on archival resources and encourage participants to visit sites and sources as listed below. It is intended that materials from the conference will be collected as part of an edited collection for publication with an academic press. 

Call for Papers and Participants
Deadline for submissions: Mon 27 Apr 2026

We are now accepting abstracts (300 words) for papers that will be presented in the Seamus Heaney Centre on Friday 11 Sep 2026.

Themes and topics might include: Ireland in the 1960s; the Belfast Group; Heaney as pedagogue; voice and broadcast; creative networks; non-manuscript literary archives. This list is indicative only and other topics and themes are welcome.

Please email shc@qub.ac.uk referencing ‘Digging at 60: From the Archives Conference’. We will continue to accept abstracts and expressions of interest until Mon 27 Apr 2026.

For further information about major Seamus Heaney archival collections:

· National Library of Ireland, Dublin (Seamus Heaney Literary Papers – including early drafts of all his poetry collections, and some of his prose writing).Contact Crónán Ó Doibhlin, codoibhlin@nli.ie.

· Emory University, Georgia, US (letters, poems, recordings of lectures, physical artefacts)

· Queen's University, Belfast (Seamus Heaney Centre: Broadcast archive of media apparences TV and Radio, Special Collections: Beowulf Manuscript collections and student notebooks). Contact Laura Caskey, l.caskey@qub.ac.uk.

Media

General enquiries - shcarchive@qub.ac.uk