The University of Ulster is launching its Academy for Irish Cultural Heritages next week with a programme of performances and readings at its four campuses. The formal launch on Monday by Seamus Heaney will be followed during the week by readings by Glenn Patterson, Vincent Woods and Colleen Burke and concerts by Liam O'Flynn and the Piper's Call Band, Juliet Turner, Brian Kennedy and Barry Douglas & Camerata Ireland.

The £3 million Academy for Irish Cultural Heritages will be an interdisciplinary centre for scholarship in Irish historical, linguistic and literary studies, as well as folklore, music and geography. It aims to explore "Irish cultures and identities both within the island and abroad" and it will focus on how the past shapes the "richness and diversity of Ireland's cultures, traditions and diverse identities". The academy's headquarters will be at Magee College, Derry, with branches at the Coleraine and Jordanstown campuses. It will provide 11 new academic appointments. The senior staff includes Prof Robert Welch, dean of the Faculty of Arts, and Prof Brian Graham, senior research professor, who has been appointed director of the academy.

Further information from: Academy for Irish Cultural Heritages, Aberfoyle House, University of Ulster Magee Campus, Northland Road, Derry BT48 7JL. Tel: 04871-375785 or see www.arts.ulst.ac.uk/academy For details of next week's programme of events, tel: 04871-375679.

arts@irish-times.ie