Harp Day 2022 was presented by Harp Ireland (Cruit Éireann in Irish) which is an Irish charitable organization established in 2016 by a bunch of harpers with a good plan!  They focus on promoting the instrument and its music while attracting more performers and audiences.  They have been busy!

Harp Day 2022 was this weekend with the theme – Harp Together.  It’s one of those activities that makes participation in their activities more accessible to all of us, around the world.  It’s not a hardship – after all Irish music (and Irish culture) is loved around the globe!  And if there’s one thing we learned over the last couple of years – we have enjoy getting together via whatever means is available to us.  I liked what they had on their website about it:

For the sixth year in a row, Irish harpers extend a warm invitation to harpers everywhere to join with them in celebrating the 1000-year-old Irish harping tradition, which is recognised on UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Now you can catch up with all the good stuff.  Harp Ireland has put loads of good stuff online, freely available. 

It was exciting to make a video to be a part of the celebration.  A group of us was gathered for something completely different but decided it would be fun – so we did it!  I was delighted to be playing with Sue Richards, Therese Honey, Donna Bennett, and Martha Hill and we had a hoot playing an American tune – Sandy Boys.  You can see it here, at 1:02:23 – but definitely watch the whole thing.  There are four videos so pace yourself! You can find all the videos here.

I think my favorite part of the finished product – beyond the fun of watching some incredible harping – is that they also put together an interactive map so you can see where everyone was coming from.  Since we made the video in North Carolina, we are represented there even though we’re from around the US.  It’s delightful to see everyone in their locations https://www.harpireland.ie/interactive-map/

Hope you enjoy it – we sure did.  If you want more information about Harp Ireland you can find it here.

Did you participate in Harp Day 2022?  How many people do you know that are in the videos?  Let me know in the comments!