By Cathal McGuigan

The new programme of events at the Seamus Heaney Homeplace will see Line of Duty star Adrian Dunbar and singer-songwriter Lisa Hannigan visit Bellaghy in the coming months.

Summer will see Irish trad band Scullion take to the stage at the Helicon on Saturday, July 29, while the public can enjoy an evening in the company of master storyteller Bernard MacLaverty the following Saturday, August 5.

The Belfast-born author of Lamb and Cal will speak about his new novel Midwinter Break, his first in 16 years. It explores the relationship between a retired married couple over the course of a short holiday in Amsterdam and has been described as an “intimate, heart-rending story.”

Enniskillen actor Adrian Dunbar, most recently seen in dramas like Line of Duty and Broken, will visit Homeplace on Saturday, August 19 to offer his perspective on Heaney’s 2006 poetry collection District and Circle. This will be followed on Friday September 8 when acclaimed dancer Jean Butler premieres a deeply personal performance inspired by Heaney’s final collection, Human Chain.

Fresh from performances at Glastonbury and Latitude, Lisa Hannigan will find time to visit Bellaghy between trips to Iceland, Belgium and the Netherlands on a tour of Europe.

Celebrated for her unmistakeable vocals, by turns hushed and soaring, and her exquisite songwriting, she has gathered countless accolades, including a Mercury Prize nomination, and a devoted following.

She will perform at Homeplace form the first time on Friday, September 29. Her latest album At Swim features an inspired a capella version of Seamus Heaney’s poem ‘Anahorish’, taken from Wintering Out, one of his earliest collections.

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