Laurel Villa: A Night in the Seamus Heaney Room

Laurel Villa is a family-run guesthouse. Ring the doorbell when you arrive. You’ll be greeted warmly, given an actual key to the place, and one to your room. Then shown to the latter.

Eugene answered the Victorian townhouse’s door and welcomed us in. Gerardine showed us to our room, the coveted Heaney bedroom on the second floor. Questions about our day and plans for our stay. What time would we like breakfast? Any preferences? Food allergies. Special diets. 

The room’s pitched ceiling reminded me of Heaney’s famous attic study in his Dublin home. A logical leap my heart wanted to make after spending the day at Seamus Heaney HomePlace. 

“Quitting Time” and “Requiem for the Croppies” are on either side of the super king-size bed above the soft sage wainscotting. A tall print of Heaney between them. There’s an assortment of framed prints throughout: Bog People, The Cure at Troy, more poems, and his signature in more than one spot. Charming and curated, not cluttered.

The room is cozy in feel, generous in space, and it even smells lovely. It’s furnished with everything you might need, including an en suite (each room has one). A writing desk that also serves as a vanity. Lamps that let you get the room’s lighting just right. A vintage painted cupboard with a coffee and tea setup and a television on top of it. I made myself a cup of Thompson’s Very Berry Tea as we made ourselves at home. 

The next morning, after a restful night of sleep, I made myself a cup of green tea and wrote. I journaled about the night before: thick fog, unseeable signs, clever road markings, and talking with our eldest granddaughter about poetry. They recently went over limericks and patterns in school. She told me all about it while I perched on the bed of the Seamus Heaney room, smiles and nods.

Before long, thanks to the busy travel day ahead of us, it was time for breakfast. The dining area’s tables are draped in pretty linens and accompanied by cushioned wooden chairs. Gerardine brought us orange juice served in glasses with green stems. She brought out scones in a silver dish lined with white doilies, powdered sugar sprinkled on top. Soon after, she came with our plated breakfasts: fried egg, sausage, bacon, tomatoes, mushrooms, and potato farls. 

Of course, there was coffee. High-quality coffee. 

I’d shared my interest in Seamus Heaney with Gerardine and Eugene before we arrived. Over breakfast, Eugene shared the story of Seamus Heaney giving a reading at Laurel Villa. Other poets had given readings there before. When they asked Seamus Heaney to give a reading there, they wanted to know his fee and planned to pay it. He didn’t want to be paid. Not only did he do the event free of charge, but after he was home, he also sent them a thank-you note by mail. 

“Thank you for the hospitality you have provided for poets and poetry – and the people who are interested in poets and poetry.” 

– Seamus Heaney

If you plan to stay:

There are four rooms, each dedicated to a writer. Two Belfast-born poets: Michael Longley and Louis MacNeice, Patrick Kavanagh from Inniskeen, and local Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney. 

Laurel Villa is a 4-Star boutique guesthouse, located just a 10-minute drive from Seamus Heaney HomePlace. Its rooms are well-equipped and supplied, and the free WiFi is solid. 

If you’re unable to reserve the Heaney room, don’t fret. There are fabulous prints and memorabilia to see throughout the house.  

Book your stay by contacting Laurel Villa using the information on their site.

If you’re planning a full trip, you might want to Steal Our Itinerary: 14 Days in Ireland and Northern Ireland. And don’t leave without our free Ireland Insider Guide. We put everything we know into our 131-page Ireland travel guide. It’s the trip companion I wish we’d had on our first visit.

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