WRITERS from Ireland’s county ANTRIM

John Hewitt from Belfast (1907-1987): Born and raised in Belfast, Hewitt is known as the “Poet of the Glens” for his work celebrating Antrim’s landscapes, particularly in poems like “The Hill Farm.” He was a key figure in Ulster’s literary revival, focusing on regional identity.
Louis MacNeice from Belfast (1907-1963): Born in Belfast to a Church of Ireland family, MacNeice grew up in Carrickfergus. His poetry, such as “Autobiography,” reflects Antrim’s landscapes and personal melancholy, blending modernist style with local imagery.
Seamus Heaney from Bellaghy (1939–2013): Born in the townland of Tamniaran near Castledawson, Heaney grew up in Bellaghy. A Nobel Prize winner (1995), his works like “Digging” and “Mid-Term Break” draw heavily on Antrim’s rural life, earning him global acclaim.
Michael Longley from Belfast (1939–2025): Born in Belfast, Longley lived there throughout his life. His poetry, including works like “Ceasefire,” explores Antrim’s landscapes and the Troubles, earning international recognition. He died in January 2025.
Ella Young from Fenagh (1867-1956): Born in Fenagh, Young was a poet and Celtic mythologist tied to the Gaelic Revival. Her works, such as “The Coming of Lugh,” blend Antrim’s folklore with mysticism, later influencing her lectures in California.
John Clifford from Larne (1900-1983): Based in East Antrim, particularly Larne, Clifford was a vernacular poet whose work preserved local dialect and traditions. His poetry, though less widely known, contributed to Antrim’s 20th-century literary scene.
James Orr from Ballycarry (1770-1816): Born in Ballycarry, Orr was a “rhyming weaver” poet whose Ulster-Scots verse, like “The Irishman,” reflected Antrim’s rural life and political struggles, including the 1798 Rebellion.
David Herbison from Ballymena (1800-1880): Born near Ballymena, Herbison was another “rhyming weaver” poet. His works, such as “The Auld Wife’s Lament,” captured Antrim’s rural and Presbyterian culture, popular among local communities.
Thomas Beggs from Glenwhirry (1749-1847): Born in Glenwhirry, Beggs was a lesser-known Ulster-Scots poet whose work reflected Antrim’s agrarian life. His verse, part of the rhyming weaver tradition, was published locally in the early 19th century.
Adam Lynn from Cullybackey (fl. early 20th century): Based in Cullybackey, Lynn authored “Random Rhymes frae Cullybackey” (1911), an Ulster-Scots collection celebrating Antrim’s rural traditions. His work, though niche, preserved local dialect.
Sam Hanna Bell: Belfast, County Antrim (lived); born in Glasgow, Scotland (1909–1990) A novelist, short-story writer, and broadcaster, Bell is best known for his novel December Bride (1951), which portrays rural Ulster life and was adapted into a film. Though born in Glasgow, he moved to Belfast as a child and spent most of his life there, deeply engaging with Antrim’s cultural and literary scene.
Forrest Reid: Belfast, County Antrim (born and lived) (1875–1947) A novelist and literary critic, Reid is often called “the first Ulster novelist of European stature.” His coming-of-age novel Following Darkness (1912) is compared to James Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Born and raised in Belfast, his works, including the Tom Barber trilogy, explore themes of youth, spirituality, and Ulster’s Protestant culture.
William James Brennan-Whitmore: Belfast, County Antrim (lived, associated through revolutionary activities) (1886–1977) A revolutionary, journalist, and novelist, Brennan-Whitmore was born in Wexford but spent significant time in Belfast, where he was involved in nationalist activities. His novel The Green Flag (1922) reflects his experiences during the Easter Rising and Irish War of Independence. His literary output is less extensive than Bell or Reid, but his work is notable for its historical and political context.