‘There is a whole tradition surrounding the Irish harp that is now hidden or forgotten’

Co Armagh harpist Simon Chadwick specialises in playing the old Irish harp and is dedicated to the revival of this ancient instrument.

The 46-year-old has an online tutoring service teaching people across the world how to play the Irish harp and its old tunes. Originally from the south of England, he lived in Scotland for some years before settling in Northern Ireland a year ago to be with his partner Sylvia Crawford, who also teaches the harp.

Simon studied archaeology at university and it was this interest in all things old that led to him researching the history of the Irish harp.

He was in his late 20s before he picked up a harp for the first time. He says: “Studying archaeology got me thinking about old things and trying to understand past ways of life and ways of doing things.

“I’m not sure when and why I decided to study the old harp but I became curious about its tradition and turned my attention in that direction.

“The more I looked into it and its Irish and Scottish history, the more I realised how little understood it was.

“I wanted to learn to play it in an ancient way and I read books and taught myself.

“There is a whole history and tradition that is kind of hidden or forgotten about and 200 years ago the Irish harp died out completely.”

The main difference between an old Irish harp and a modern harp is the strings. An old Irish harp has metal strings which produce a bell-like sound very different from the gentle tones produced by the nylon strings of other harps.

Helping to bring about a revival of this unique instrument is now part of Simon life’s work.

He has published a book of old Irishharpmusicandrunsayearly music school in Kilkenny dedicated to the Irish harp. He has also written a research paper on its history.

Only a handful of these fascinating instruments survive as museum pieces and, in order to learn to play one, Simon had to find a craftsman with the skill to painstakingly replicate an original. Just three weeks ago he took possession of a very special harp which has been a full year in the making and which he will play for the first time in public today.

His harp is an exact copy of a late 17th century harp, believed to have belonged to Turlough O’Carolan, the Irish Bard, which is on display in the National Museum in Dublin.

He adds: “Lily and I will both be playing today and whereas her music is very modern and progressive, mine is the opposite and I will be playing a selection of tunes from the old Irish harp tradition.

“There is a great selection of people attending today and the Linen Hall Library has a great collection of manuscripts relating to the harp.”

Tickets for today’s event which runs from 3.30pm until 7.30pm cost £20 and can be obtained from the Linen Hall Library website www.linenhall. com. Proceeds from the event will be used for the long-term preservation and eventual digitisation of the Beath Collection