- Home
- Festival & events
- Seamus Heaney and the Bogs
Seamus Heaney and the Bogs

- Free to visit
Saturday, 1 August 2026
About this event
Dr Patrick Roycroft will speak on the landscape that inspired Heaney’s poetry across his lifetime, from his admiration of his father turf cutting in Digging, to his praise of bogs as Ireland's mythological landscape in Bogland, to the troubling portents of violence in The Tollund Man. From Giant Elks to preserved butter to bog bodies, the bogs provided a treasure trove of inspiration for the poet.
Interspersed with poetry readings, discover the natural history behind the poetry, including when and why the bogs formed in Ireland, the marvels preserved within them, and what Ireland was like before the bogs even came to be.
Free, booking advised.
Readers are advised to check with the venue before relying on the details published here.
Live music & gigsNathan Carter in Conversation: A Music Talks Series
More detailsThu, 13 Aug
The Lark Concert Hall
Live music & gigsDanny O’Reilly in Conversation: A Music Talks Series
More detailsMon, 10 Aug
The Lark Concert Hall
Dance & performing artsESENCIA - Daniel Caballera Flamenco Show
More detailsFri, 7 Aug - Sat, 8 Aug
The Lark Concert Hall
Dance & performing artsChalanam - Celebrating the Art of Movement
More detailsSun, 30 Aug
The Civic Theatre

Art ExhibitionsHeaney & Women - Seamus Heaney: Listen Now Again
More detailsSat, 1 Aug - Sat, 15 Aug
Seamus Heaney: Listen Now Again
Art ExhibitionsDublin by Dusk: Making Irelands, Marianne Keating & Yvonne McGuinness
More detailsThu, 30 Jul
IMMA. Irish Museum of Modern Art
Food ExperiencesDublin by Dusk: The Cocktail Experience
More detailsThu, 30 Jul
Pearse Lyons Whiskey Distillery

Art ExhibitionsThe Art of En Plein Air: Summer Oil Painting Workshop
More detailsFri, 7 Aug
National Gallery of Ireland
Art ExhibitionsThe Art of En Plein Air: Summer Oil Painting Workshop
More detailsFri, 31 Jul
National Gallery of Ireland