Ireland’s
Border Culture

The Ireland’s Border Culture project is funded under the HEA North-South Research Programme 2021, to research and create an annotated digital archive of literary and visual art representations of Ireland’s border culture, 1921 – 2024. 

Ireland’s Border Culture is a collaboration between the Trinity Long Room Hub Arts and Humanities Research Institute, Trinity College Dublin, and the Seamus Heaney Centre in the School of Arts, English, and Languages at Queen’s University Belfast. The project team are Professor Eve Patten and Dr Orla Fitzpatrick (TCD) and Dr Garrett Carr and Dr Aisling Reid (QUB).

The interactive map includes a detailed visual representation of Ireland’s border area, with clickable points highlighting various locations. Each point provides access to a variety of content, including artworks and literary excerpts that reflect the cultural and historical significance of that particular place. By clicking on a point, users can engage with paintings, photographs, or illustrations inspired by the area. They can also explore the literary works – such as poems, stories, or essays – written about or set in the region. In addition to individual locations, the map allows users to explore broader themes, including ‘Bachelors’, ‘Comedy & Performance’, ‘Lines & Divisions’, ‘Security & Insecurity’, ‘Trade & Transport’, as well as ‘Youth’. Navigation is intuitive—users can either explore freely by selecting any point of interest or follow specific guided paths based on thematic connections. 

If you’re having any difficulties viewing the map on your device, you can load it directly from here.  

Imagine! Belfast

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