Peter Whelan

Early Irish Harp Discovery Day

Doneraile Court
Saturday 18th October, 2025, 11am-1pm
Free admission, booking required

in partnership with Scoil na gCláirseach / the Historical Harp Society of Ireland

Dr. Siobhán Armstrong – speaker

Eibhlís Ní Ríordáin – workshop facilitator

Book talk
Book workshop

Programme

11-11:30am Talk by Dr. Siobhán Armstrong on the early Irish harp
11:45-12:45am Beginners’ early Irish harp workshop with Eibhlís Ní Ríordáin
In honour of National Harp Day, Dr. Siobhán Armstrong, founding director of the Historical Harp Society of Ireland, will deliver a 30-minute illustrated talk on the fascinating history of the old Irish harp with wire strings, which was played until the early 1800s.
The HHSI was founded to return to the world the true sound of the oldest Irish music, lost to the living tradition 200 years ago. Using applied research and hands-on artistic work on copies of early Irish harps, they are restoring Ireland’s iconic, historical instrument and its repertory to contemporary Irish culture.
Would you like to learn more about sound of the brass wire strings, played with long fingernails, on the medieval Brian Boru harp depicted in the Irish national emblem? Would you be interested to know what the famous Irish harper, Turlough Carolan’s eighteenth-century songs and harp melodies might have sounded like on his larger version of a similar kind of instrument? Then you’ve come to the right place!
Then you can join Eibhlís Ní Ríordáin for a hands-on workshop for absolute beginners. Harps copied from medieval to 18th-century originals will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Please note this is a free ticketed event. Workshop spaces need to be reserved in advance.

Book talk

When you select your tickets in the box below, a pop-up window will allow you to complete the booking through our ticketing platform Tito. If the pop-up doesn’t appear you can also use the Book tickets button above, or click here to book directly on the Tito webpage.

Tickets will be sent to the email address used during booking. You don’t need to bring printed tickets to any event, we can find your tickets by the name you used to book. For any difficulty with ticketing, please email us at [email protected].

Book workshop

The workshop is for complete beginners and early Irish harps will be provided for you to try.

You can also click here to book directly on the Tito webpage.