Cairde Na Cruite

People

Overview

Over the years, harpers have discovered that the degree of personal improvement they have achieved through high calibre, intensive tutoring, in an atmosphere of good fun, is quite unique among festivals of harping.

The Festival mentors/tutors are drawn from the foremost figures and in the world of Irish harping represent some of the most respected and experienced teachers in Ireland and include a number of internationally renowned performers. Harpers who have taught at the festival in the past include:

Dr Helen Lawlor

Secretary of Cairde na Cruite

Helen lectures in music at Dundalk Institute of Technology where she teaches Irish music, music education and ethnomusicology. She completed her PhD entitled 'Contemporary Irish Harping' in 2010 at University College Dublin. She has researched the Irish harping tradition from 1900 to the present day. Helen specialises in playing traditional Irish music on the Irish harp but also plays Early-Irish and concert harp. She has featured on several recordings, including Neill Lyons' album 'Skins and Sins' and Lorcán MacMathúna's 'An Rogaire Dubh'.

Áine Ní Dhubhghaill

Artistic Director

Dubliner Áine Ní Dhubhghaill was immersed in Irish traditional music from an early age. She has had numerous performances at harp festivals and concerts around the world including the US, Hungary, the Netherlands, Brittany, Wales, Scotland, England, Germany and Vietnam. She has premiered compositions by one of Scotland’s foremost harper composers, Savourna Stevenson and Dr Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin. Her recordings include several film scores and CDs and a feature on renowned Irish broadcaster Ciarán MacMathúna's series "A Touch of the Master's Hand". As a Concert Harpist, Áine has played with orchestras and ensembles including the RTÉCO and the RTÉNSO. She teaches harp at the Royal Irish Academy of Music and has been a committee member of Cairde na Cruite for many years. Áine is co-editor of Rogha na gCruitirí, Harpers’ Choice – 100 traditional tunes for Irish harp, published by Cairde na Cruite in 2010 to celebrate its fiftieth anniversary.

Cormac De Barra

Cormac has performed throughout Europe, the USA and the Far East. With Anne Marie O’ Farrell he has frequently appeared in concerts/recitals for harp duet and currently tours with singer Hazel O’Connor as well as performing regularly with singer Máire Ní Bhraonáin and her band.

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Maire Ní Chathasaigh

Maire has developed a variety of new harp techniques, particularly in relation to ornamentation, with the aim of establishing an authentically traditional style of Irish harping. Together with guitarist Chris Newman, she records and tours extensively all over the world.

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Helen Davies

Helen has held orchestral posts in Sweden and Ireland and is particularly associated with the work of Shaun Davey. Now based in Copenhagen, Helen’s main work is in the field of contemporary improvised music, blending acoustic and electronic sounds with trumpet player/composer Palle Mikkelborg.

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Dearbhail Finnegan

Dearbhail combines a busy career as a soloist with teaching harp in the O’Carolan Harp school in Nobber, Co. Meath, the birthplace of Turlough O’Carolan. She is currently Director of the Meath Harp Ensemble which she formed in 2003. She travels extensively, performing in Europe and the USA and has released a number of recordings for Irish harp.

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Kim Fleming

Kim has performed in Europe Africa, Japan, Europe and the USA along with many prestigious performances in Ireland. Kim has a particular interest in harp tutoring and is the Director of the Mullingar and Granard harp schools.

Gráinne Hambley

Gráinne is a native of Co Mayo and travels widely performing and teaching the Irish harp. She specialises in teaching Irish traditional music ‘by ear’ and is also a very proficient concertina player. She has featured on a number of recording s and has released three solo CDs.

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Kathleen Loughnane

Kathleen Loughnane is highly regarded for her work in arranging traditional Irish dance tunes and airs for the harp, and also for her research into the music of Irish harper composers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In 1999, she co-founded the group Dordán, whose mix of Irish and baroque music has received wide acclaim.

Dordán has toured extensively in Ireland and overseas and received the National Entertainment award for traditional music in 2003. Kathleen was nominated in the Traditional Music Awards category for the Meteor Awards in 2010. She has four CDs and accompanying books of harp arrangements, the most recent being The Harpers Connellan.

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Anne Marie O’Farrell

Anne Marie’s development of the Irish harp as a concert instrument has led to performances and recordings for TV and radio throughout Europe, the USA, Scandinavia and Japan. Anne-Marie is especially noted for her transcriptions of keyboard, lute and pedal harp repertoire for the Irish harp, and for her unique levering techniques.

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Caitríona Yeats

Caitríona is recognised as one of the most distinguished of present day harpists and has performed with much success in Europe and the United States. Catríona has also given numerous masterclasses and workshops and is currently harpist with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra.

Aisling Ennis

Aisling is a passionate performer, composer and teacher, who enjoys a varied career as a freelance concert harpist. A former student of the Royal Academy of Music and Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, she holds a first class honours degree in performance from the Royal Irish Academy of Music and a first class Master's degree in Arts Management and Cultural Policy from UCD.

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Seosaimhín Ní Bheaglaoich

Seosaimhín, well known Kerry seannós singer will be joining us at an Chúirt Chruitireachta as singer in residence. We look forward to an exciting collaboration of harp and voice as we explore the many ways to interpret songs in Irish and English.

Aibhlín McCrann

As Festival Director of An Chúirt Chruitireachta for more than 20 years, Aibhlín successfully developed an internationally recognised Festival, unrivalled in the Irish Harp world. As a former Secretary of Cairde na Cruite, she showed a particular interest in the integration of the Irish harp into mainstream Irish music as well as the development of skills and repertoire for Irish harpers.