A WORKING LIBRARY
The Ciaran Carson Collection

Ciaran Carson was the first director of the Seamus Heaney Centre, and upon his death he bequeathed to the Centre the books from his working offices at Queen’s and his home. Amongst the books were letters, ephemera and A/V material.   

There's an eclectic range of books that form the heart of the collection, covering a wide subject matter with the majority being poetry collections and translations. It’s possible to see the different interests Carson had from the books he collected. Many of the books contained personal inscriptions either from the author, or from friends who had gifted the book to Carson. These inscriptions help to build up a picture of his connections and personal relationships with his contemporaries. About a third of the books also contained letters or ephemera, which again helped to build up information about his professional life as Centre Director and working writer.