Caomhnú Lú - For the Birds
2026-09-18 18:00 - 20:00 (Europe/Dublin) | Highlanes Gallery, 36 Saint Laurence Street, Drogheda, Leinster, A92 F7PH, Ireland
Cruit Éireann|Harp Ireland’s Caomhnú Lú commission, For the Birds, by composer Donnchadh MacAodha in collaboration with Music Generation Louth Harp Ensemble, is a three-part contemporary work focusing on Louth’s natural environment and unique harping legacy. This new contemporary commission for solo harp and ensemble is a musical response to the birdlife of County Louth, drawing on the Louth Bird Report and its record of activity along the county’s coastline over twelve months. Dundalk Bay and the wider Louth coast are vital habitats for the many species that pass through and settle here, and this piece meditates on the fragility of that world in the face of climate change. Bird calls and songs are evoked throughout, tracking the arrival and departure of different species from spring to winter.
Young Ensemble harpers are led by renowned local harper and teacher, Deirdre Ní Bhuachalla with performances on Culture Night on September 18th and on Cruit Éireann|Harp Ireland’s global celebration of the harp, Lá na Cruite|Harp Day, on October 17th. Green activist Mark Deary leads a special open forum and discussion capturing community responses and views at Highlanes Gallery on Culture Night.
For the Birds is accompanied by specially curated images by videographer, Seán McMahon projected on the gallery walls of familiar places throughout the county – already suffering the consequences of climate change and severe flooding. During the performance the audience will experience an immersive sound and visual landscape resonating with the piece and the current evolving climate crisis.
Date: Friday 18th September, Culture Night
Time: 6pm
Venue: Highlanes Gallery, 36 Saint Laurence Street, Drogheda, A92 F7PH

Culture Night: Ceol Ársa Cláirsí
2026-09-18 20:00 - 22:00 | The Courthouse Arts Centre, Dwyer Square, Tinahely, Leinster, Y14 X099, Ireland
A Celebration of Irish Harp Music from the 17th & 18th Centuries
Step into the rich and atmospheric world of early Irish harpers’ music with Ceol Ársa Cláirsí, a musical experience that brings the unique sound of the 17th and 18th centuries vividly to life. This performance showcases the music of legendary harper-composers such as Turlough Carolan, Thomas Connellan, and Ruairí Dall Ó Catháin, taken from original Irish and Scottish sources.
Featuring a remarkable ensemble of leading musicians – Cormac Breatnach, Steve Cooney, Aisling Ennis, Malachy Robinson, and Eamon Sweeney – the programme showcases the distinctive textures of gut-strung and wire-strung instruments alongside traditional instrumentation, anchored by the unmistakable voice of the modern Irish harp.
With a sound described by audiences as “unique and mesmerising,” Ceol Ársa Cláirsí offers a rare opportunity to experience Ireland’s harp tradition, and how it has permeated the repertoire, through a historically-informed and immersive performance.
Date: Friday 18th September, Culture Night
Time: 8pm (doors 7:30pm)
Venue: The Courthouse Arts Centre, Dwyer Square, Tinahely, County Wicklow, Y14 X099

Workshop with Alannah Thornburgh | Boyne TradFest
2026-09-19 11:00 - 14:00 | St. Oliver’s Community College, Drogheda, A92 D766, Drogheda, A92 D766, Ireland
Workshop with Alannah Thornburgh | Boyne TradFest
Instrumental Workshops take place on Saturday 19th September 2026
from 11:00am – 2:00pm in St. Oliver’s Community College, Drogheda (A92 D766).
Alannah Thornburgh is an award-winning instrumentalist and composer from the wild west of Ireland with a focus on traditional Irish harp. Alannah’s music explores her family heritage, reimagining melodies from the Irish harping and American folk & jazz traditions. This cross-genre interaction and juxtaposition of old melodies with contemporary harmonies and technique is interwoven throughout her music, described as being ‘unforced, fluid and utterly at home in her own sound’ (The Irish Times). In February 2025, Alannah released her debut album ‘Shapeshifter’ – a collection of compositions inspired by fairy folklore & mythology in rural Ireland (“Sublime debut from Mayo composer” 9/10 – Hot Press). Alannah was awarded ‘Best Folk Instrumentalist’ at the 2025 RTÉ Folk Awards and was also awarded Musician-In-Residence at Carnegie Library, Fingal County Council / Music Network where she composed a suite entitled ‘The Thinning Veil: Haunting Tales & Tunes of Fingal’. Alannah also received the Traditional Arts Bursary 2025 for her collaborative compositional project ‘An t-Alltar’, due for release in 2027.
Visit www.boynetradfest.ie for registration ✨

Harp Sessions at The Sugar Club | Tríona Marshall, Ályth McCormack & Graham Henderson
2026-09-24 20:00 - 22:00 | The Sugar Club, 8 Leeson Street Lower, Dublin, D02 ET97, Ireland
Acclaimed Irish harpist Tríona Marshall will perform with Scottish singer Ályth McCormack. Alyth is a highly respected interpreter of song and a long-standing featured singer with The Chieftains. Joining them is multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer Graham Henderson. This performance showcases an exceptional trio of artists each of whom is renowned for their deep musicality and innovation.
Ályth and Tríona have shared a deep and enduring artistic connection. The late Paddy Moloney of The Chieftains described their album Red & Gold as “From the heartland of Ireland to the shores of the Island of Lewis, Tríona Marshall and Ályth McCormack have created a beautiful blend of harp music and song — showing how closely related our music and songs are.”
That musical relationship has now evolved with the addition of Graham Henderson, who is producing their remarkable new album, Time to Leave the Darkness. Henderson has enjoyed a distinguished career collaborating with icons like Sinéad O’Connor, Dónal Lunny, and Iarla Ó Lionáird. His unique perspective adds a rich new layer to Ályth and Tríona’s already distinctive sound creating new textures that define their new album and will be brought vividly to life in this concert.
Ályth and Graham’s creative partnership has flourished over recent years, unearthing deeply personal songs that resonate with the universal themes of love, loss, empathy and understanding. The process has been profoundly cathartic, resulting in music that speaks with honesty and depth and in a shared desire to bring that experience to audiences too.
Similarly, Tríona and Graham are united by a deep love of sound, texture and musical colour. This fascination pushes them to trace the edges of their instruments’ expressive possibilities. Combined with the remarkable clarity of Ályth’s voice, the trio has developed a distinctive musical language that is new whilst also rooted in the traditions that have shaped them
Date: Thursday 24th September
Time: 8pm (doors 7:30pm)
Venue: The Sugar Club, 8 Leeson Street Lower, Dublin 2, D02 ET97
Tickets: Book here.
