For centuries, the sound of Ireland’s original brass-wire-strung harp was lost to history. This July, audiences in Kilkenny will have a rare opportunity to hear the instrument that shaped Ireland’s musical identity and inspired the national emblem brought back to life by pioneering musicians and researchers.

When most people think of the Irish harp, they picture the modern concert instrument found in orchestras and traditional music sessions. Few realise the harp depicted on Ireland’s coat of arms, government seals, passports and official documents was an entirely different instrument.

The early Irish harp, strung with brass wire and played for kings, chieftains and noble households, once stood at the heart of Irish cultural life.

It once echoed through the halls of kings, chieftains and noble households across Ireland. Renowned throughout Europe for its distinctive, resonant sound, it occupied a central place in Irish cultural life for centuries.

Then it disappeared.

By the nineteenth century, the instrument behind Ireland’s national emblem had effectively fallen silent. Its music survived only in manuscripts, paintings, fragments of oral history and the memories of a fading tradition.

Today, a remarkable revival is underway. Now, more than two centuries later, a growing movement is bringing that lost sound back.

For more than two decades, The Historical Harp Society of Ireland has been leading an international effort to recover the sound, repertoire and performance practices of Ireland’s ancient harp tradition. Through meticulous historical research, instrument reconstruction and performance, the organisation has helped reintroduce audiences to one of the country’s most significant yet least understood cultural treasures.

This July, that work takes centre stage in Kilkenny as the Society presents Discovery Days, a three-day celebration of Ireland’s ancient harp heritage featuring concerts, talks, workshops and rare performances on reconstructed historical instruments.

Among the highlights is The King’s Irish Harper, a special performance directed by Dr Siobhán Armstrong, one of the world’s foremost authorities on the early Irish harp. The concert will feature a remarkable world premiere performance on a reconstructed Irish harp with two rows of brass-wire strings, believed to be the only playable instrument of its kind in existence today.

For audiences, it offers a rare opportunity to hear a sound that has been absent from Irish cultural life for centuries. More than a reconstruction, it is a living connection to a musical tradition that once resonated through the courts and great houses of Ireland.

The programme also includes Grá agus Caoine: Loves and Laments, featuring internationally acclaimed vocalist Iarla Ó Lionáird alongside some of Ireland’s leading performers of historical and traditional music, exploring themes of love, loss and memory through Ireland’s rich musical heritage.

Siobhán Armstrong commented:
We are thrilled to have the Grammy Award nominee, Iarla Ó Lionáird, with us for this evening of evocative music from Ireland’s rich past. Iarla’s soaring voice – in the 1000-year- old Parade Tower of Kilkenny Castle – complements the warm sound of ‘the queen of pipers herself’ Sorcha Ní Scólaí’s pipes and the ancient brass-wire-strung Irish harps played by myself and Eibhlís Ní Ríordáin, who will accompany her own renditions of long-forgotten harpers’ love songs. An evening to remember…

Founded in 2002, The Historical Harp Society of Ireland has become a driving force in the revival of Ireland’s early harp tradition. Through pioneering research, instrument reconstruction, education and performance, the organisation has helped restore a lost chapter of Ireland’s musical history to contemporary audiences.

In a country where the harp remains one of the most recognisable national symbols in the world, Discovery Days offers something increasingly rare: the chance not simply to see that symbol, but to hear it.

At a time when conversations around cultural identity, heritage and preservation have become increasingly important, Discovery Days invites audiences to reconnect with one of Ireland’s most significant, yet often overlooked, artistic traditions. Far from being confined to museums or history books, the early Irish harp tradition continues to live and evolve through performance, scholarship and community engagement.

Taking place in Kilkenny from 8 to 10 July 2026, the festival celebrates Ireland’s ancient brass-wire-strung harp, an exquisite instrument depicted on the national emblem but largely absent from modern public life. Through concerts, talks, workshops and hands-on experiences, visitors will have a rare opportunity to hear the instrument’s distinctive sound and discover the stories that surround it.

The programme opens on Wednesday 8 July at Parade Tower, Kilkenny Castle, with The King’s Irish Harper, performed by The Irish Consort under the direction of Dr Siobhán Armstrong. The concert explores music associated with Patrick Quin, one of Ireland’s most celebrated historical harpers, and features internationally acclaimed musicians including Bojan Cicic (baroque violin), Reiko Ichise (bass viol) and Elizabeth Kenny (theorbo).

On Friday 10 July, audiences can experience Grá agus Caoine: Loves and Laments, bringing together internationally renowned sean-nós singer Iarla Ó Lionáird with Siobhán Armstrong, Sorcha Ní Scolaí and Eibhlís Ní Ríordáin for a programme exploring the emotional depth and expressive power of Ireland’s harp tradition.

Alongside the headline concerts, Discovery Days offers a rich programme of free public events at Rothe House on Thursday 9 July. Visitors can attend Simon Chadwick’s fascinating talk, 900 Years of Irish Harping, hear Eibhlís Ní Ríordáin perform Guth na Cláirsí: The Voice of the Harp, take part in beginners’ workshops, and enjoy opportunities to engage directly with the instrument and its history. A specialist workshop for harpists led by Dr Siobhán Armstrong will also take place.

“Alongside our free events, international Irish music star Iarla Ó Lionáird will be performing in concert with prize-winning Irish and international musicians on harp, voice, uilleann pipes, baroque violin, viola da gamba and theorbo,” says Historical Harp Society of Ireland member Maura Walsh.

“And we’re having a world premiere. Audiences will hear exquisite chamber music from the royal court in seventeenth-century London, including a reconstructed Irish harp with two rows of brass-wire strings, currently the only instrument of its kind known to be in active performance anywhere in the world.”

For most people, the harp is a symbol. In Kilkenny this July, it becomes a living sound once again.

Discovery Days takes place from 8 to 10 July 2026 at Kilkenny Castle and Rothe House.

Tickets, including registration for free events, are available via https://irishharp.eventbrite.com and at the door. A special €36 family ticket will also be available.

More information can be found at https://irishharp.org/discovery-days.