Marcon Fit-Out has been awarded the contract for the fit-out of the new Seamus Heaney centre in Bellaghy. 

The building will showcase the life and work of the late poet Seamus Heaney bringing together an interactive exhibition using the latest audio visual technology with a 160-seater theatre and performance space, learning zones for children and adults as well as community space.

(l-r) Mark McElroy, Director, Marcon Fit-Out and Andrew Todd, Director, Tandem Design

Marcon’s heritage team will be using the specialist skills of its joinery workshop to create bespoke elements for the new building which is being developed by Mid Ulster District Council.

Mark McElroy, Director, Marcon Fit-Out, commented: “We are really excited to be playing such a key role in the new Seamus Heaney Interpretive Centre. This culturally significant project will be an important facility for local people and will be a driver to attract new visitors into the area.   

Our heritage team is looking forward to starting work on the scheme, supported by our specialist joinery workshop which will manufacture the many bespoke joinery items within the new building. We are delighted to have been awarded this project as it will further enhance our reputation within the museum and heritage sector. 

I have a personal connection with the project as like Seamus Heaney I was taught at Anahorish Primary School and my late grandfather Eddie Diamond is mentioned in the Heaney poem ‘Hailstones’.”

The award winning fit-out firm will be working closely with leading interpretive designer, Tandem, to deliver the new centre.

Andrew Todd, Director, Tandem, added: “The project presents an opportunity to celebrate the contribution made to the world by Seamus Heaney and to inspire the next generation of children in the area to not only be proud of their region but also to delve into poetry that has a personal connection to them all through the landscape they share. It is a privilege to work on the project and have the opportunity to develop a new tourism draw for the area and as such our expectations of the finished product are high and with Marcon on board to deliver the fit-out we are one step closer.”

Marcon Fit-Out has been responsible for the fit-out of a number of iconic museums and exhibitions over the past number of years, namely Titanic Belfast, Down County Museum,Navan Fort, Carrickfergus Castle, the Guildhall and the Gobbins Path Visitors Centre.  The company recently secured the fit-out of the iconic American Air Museum for Imperial War Museum Duxford in Cambridgeshire.

(l-r) Andrew Todd, Director, Tandem Design and Mark McElroy, Director, Marcon Fit-Out