Enjoy a fascinating journey exploring the highlights of Heaney's archive, from his rural origins through to his remarkable career as a poet.

The quote above is from a letter that Jane Austen wrote to her niece Anna on the 28th of September, 1814. 

Maria Edgeworth was at the very top of Jane Austen’s reading list. Maria was equally a fan of Jane’s novels. But even as Jane was publishing anonymously, Maria was enjoying the respect and renown of being one of Britain’s leading authors. 

Today the tables are turned. Everyone has heard of Austen while Edgeworth has slipped into obscurity. In this talk, Rachel and Andrew Knowles explore the Austen-Edgeworth connection as they tell the story of Maria, who spent much of her life in Edgeworthstown, County Longford. 

Established by the Dublin Science and Art Museum Act, 1877, the NLI was originally housed at the Royal Dublin Society's premises in Leinster House until the present building at 7/8 Kildare Street was formally opened on 1890.

Discover the history of our beautiful Victorian building on Kildare Street and meet the NLI's Director Dr Audrey Whitty. The guided tour will also visit the magnificent Reading Room and explore our links with some of Ireland’s greatest writers and thinkers.

6–7pm | Entry free but booking required.

Meet in the Front Hall of National Library of Ireland, 7/8 Kildare Street, Dublin 2. For more information regarding accessibility in our buildings please see here.

Bloomsday celebrates the 16th of June 1904, the day depicted in James Joyce’s world famous novel Ulysses, and is named after the book’s central character Leopold Bloom. The National Library of Ireland celebrates our connection to Ulysses and James Joyce every year, both in our iconic Reading Room and the Seamus Heaney: Listen Now Again exhibition on College Green.

Just prior to entering the National Library, Leopold Bloom walks across Dublin—passing through Westmoreland Street —in the Aeolus episode of Ulysses. The National Library and its beautiful Reading Room then feature in Episode 9: Scylla and Charybdis, in which Bloom visits the library between approximately 2pm and 3pm.

Join Ayrton O’Brien as he reads from the Aeolus section of Ulysses at the Seamus Heaney: Listen Now Again exhibition on Westmoreland Street between 1pm and 2pm.

The Main Reading Room will be open to the public on Bloomsday between 5pm and 7:30pm. Ayrton will also be reading passages from Ulysses in the Reading Room at 5:30pm, 6pm, and 6:30pm.

No advance booking is required.

More Joyce Activities |

For more of the festivities, join us at the Seamus Heaney: Listen Now Again exhibition on Westmoreland Street for a special Bloomsday tour, Now Strike Your Note, on Saturday 14th June at 1pm to discover all the indelible connections between these two masters of the pen. 

The NLI also looks forward to participating in the Bloomsday Passport, more information will be posted closer to the date.

Heaney's own writing desk is the focal point of an experience that explores Heaney’s creative process through original manuscripts, as well as letters, unpublished works, diary entries, photographs, personal artefacts and multimedia recordings. 

This exhibition draws on the extensive archive that Seamus Heaney and his family donated to the National Library of Ireland in 2011. 

Curated by Professor Geraldine Higgins, Director of Irish Studies at Emory University, this exhibition was created in partnership between the NLI, the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, and Bank of Ireland.

Booking a Group Visit

If you would like to book a free guided group visit to Seamus Heaney: Listen Now Again, please send an email to heaneyexhibition@nli.ie or call 01 670 6153 and a member of our Team will be in touch with you. You can find out more about our group offerings by visiting our Learn section. We look forward to welcoming you to the exhibition.