09/09/2026
The UCY Irish Studies Collective of the Department of English Studies, UCY in collaboration with the Embassy of Ireland, Cyprus, warmly invite you to Digging into Languages: Seamus Heaney in Cypriot Greek Translation a reading featuring new translations of Heaney’s poetry by UCY alumna Thea Paraskeva.
Translation was at the heart of Seamus Heaney’s poetry, from reflections on how the name of his childhood family farm, Mossbawn, contains different linguistic histories (in ‘Belderg’, 1974) to the many translations he carried out over his six-decade writing career, such as Sweeney Astray: A Version from the Irish (1983) or The Burial at Thebes: A Version of Sophocles' Antigone (2004).
Digging into Languages celebrates Heaney’s work by making it sing in Cypriot Greek, featuring new translations by Thea Paraskeva. Inspired by her focus on Heaney’s farming poetry from Death of a Naturalist (1966), we will hear music from Cypriot and Irish traditions, before the event concludes with a discussion on the making of Thea’s translations with Dr Spyros Armostis, Dr Vasso Giannakopoulou and Dr James Little.
Entrance free of charge
All are welcome – Tá fáilte roimh chách – Ούλλοι|ες εν’ ευπρόσδεκτοι|ες!
Kindly supported by UCY Department of English Studies, the Embassy of Ireland in Cyprus and the Estate of Seamus Heaney.
