Lá na Cruite, Harp Day 2021 took place on Saturday 16th October where harpers all over the world celebrated Ireland’s 1,000-year-old harping tradition. Since 2017, Cruit Éireann │ Harp Ireland has successfully curated and coordinated our celebration of harping. In 2021, Lá na Cruite │ Harp Day featured the best of Irish harping in hybrid format, and audiences all over the world were able to access in-person and online events through concerts, lectures, popup events, and harp makers’ workshops. Harp Day 2021 combined some live events and virtual broadcasts on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cruiteireann and on our YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/c/HarpIreland.

Lá na Cruite │ Harp Day’s theme for 2021 was HARPS ALIVE; it was our response to a renewed sense of awareness that many people had a heightened experience of the beauty of the world around them over the past 18 months. During COVID-19, our lives were put ‘on hold’, we paused to listen and to look around us with a new perspective; hearing bird song, getting out and about, walking on our beautiful hills and coastal areas, and relating to nature in a different way. With that backdrop, Lá na Cruite │ Harp Day focused on three themes: Connecting, Engaging and Collaborating.

We called on harpers to take up their harps on Lá na Cruite │ Harp Day and reconnect with nature in their favourite outdoor spaces: on hills, beside lakes, on the coast, in forests or even in their own back gardens. On Saturday 11th September we launched our HARPERS’ CALL, inviting harpers from all corners of the world to submit a 2-3 minute video recording, showing how they are engaging with their natural surroundings and sharing their music. The response was phenomenal and the collated videos were broadcast on our YouTube channel.

You can watch all our Harp Day 2021 videos here: https://www.harpireland.ie/harp-day-2021-watch-online/ and check out all the highlights here: https://www.harpireland.ie/national-harp-day-overview/harp-day-2021-2/