Talented new musical group to debut in Moville

The recently formed Inishowen Harp Ensemble is set to premiere in Moville's Mullan Hope Centre.

The brainchild of Clódagh Warnock, from the seaside town's Ceolan School of Music, Inishowen Harp Ensemble, the first of its kind in Donegal, will grace the stage of the Mullan Hope Centre at 1.00pm on Sunday.

Speaking to the Donegal Live, Clódagh Warnock, was obviously moved by the generosity of Geraldine Mullan towards the project.

Recalling the genesis of the Inishowen Harp Ensemble, Clódagh said the harp was one of Ireland's most ancient instrument.

She added: “I have been trying to encourage harp playing in Inishowen for a long time. One of our most ancient instruments, the harp obviously played an important role in the peninsula centuries ago because the first depiction of a harp in Ireland is a carving on Carndonagh's Cross, which dates back to the Sixth Century.

“That is the first known symbol of a harp anywhere in Ireland. We would have had a lot of bardic harps then, so it is a very important symbol.

“There has been a lot of research into Traditional Music this last 15 to 20 years but I always felt the harp had only been sporadically involved, there are so few harp players.

“About 12 years ago, we began harp lessons at the Ceolan School of Music. We bought some beginner harps and started classes with Henry Girl, Joleen McLaughlin. Over that time, we have had 45 harp pupils coming to classes.

“The problem is that a lot of the kids do not continue because of the prohibitive cost of having to purchase a harp. It is often beyond the resources of parents. Our plan was to try and buy a number of high quality, professional harps, which would make a big difference to the kids doing their Junior Certificates, Leaving Certificates, grades or any music qualification,” said Clódagh, who set about forming a committee.

Clódagh acknowledged the “tremendous help” given by the Inishowen Development Partnership (IDP) in getting the Inishowen Harp Ensemble off the ground.

She said: “I was in contact with Gillian McColgan of the IDP in Carndonagh, which provided funding to enable us to buy 10 Camac harps. They are a professional harp. They are from France and they are very sturdy.

“We decided then we were going to try and start the Inishowen Harp Ensemble. We pulled together some of the harp students we already had around the peninsula. There are also a number of older players coming back as well.

“The project is designed for teenagers and any adults in Inishowen, involved in harping, or any other type of Traditional Music and they always wanted to try and play the harp.

“We are going to make the new harps available to as many people as possible, to get people started. The Inishowen Harp Ensemble is the first harp ensemble of its kind in Donegal.

“We are aiming to make it as socially inclusive as possible, under the tutelage of Joleen and Kieva McGonagle, one of Joleen's past pupils.

“Kieva has been covering for Joleen this last year. She is going into her final year now in Limerick studying music. It has been brilliant to have her up here.

“We have done a lot of work together to try and figure out how we are going to get Inishowen Harp Ensemble up and running. On a personal level, I feel the Ensemble is going to be really good for a lot of the harp students.”

The musical powerhouse said she wants to give young harpers the confidence to go out and start playing in sessions with other musicians.

Clódagh added: “We would also like to bring some of these harps into schools, to try and get more interest in harp playing. None of this would have been possible without the IDP.

“I must also acknowledge the support of Geraldine Mullan, the lady who lost her family last August. There is a group of people who decided to raise money for Geraldine for whatever she wanted to do. They did the Everest Step Up challenge on July 11 here in Inishowen.

“The people behind it were: Paul McGowan, a local gym owner, Nicola Kelly and Elena Gill. They got different teams involved. The generosity of everyone who contributed was overwhelming. The money raised was split between LauraLynn (Ireland's Children's Hospice) and the Inishowen Harp Ensemble.

“We received a cheque last week for €4,480. That was unbelievable and is going to buy an harp. Centra in the town also donated €500 towards the Inishowen Harp Ensemble.

“The whole community is getting behind the Inishowen harp ensemble. We decided to try and kick start things with a workshop this week and we are unveiling the Inishowen Harp Ensemble on Sunday (August 29) at 1pm at the Farmers Market in the Mullan Hope Centre (the former Moville Garden Centre). There are going to be 20 harpers involved and we are hoping to encourage more to start to learning.

“We are very appreciative of the help of the IDP, Geraldine's support and the support of the community in fundraising for harps and bringing the Ensemble to fruition. I would encourage as many people as possible to get their hands on this harps and get a chance to play.”

Clódagh can be contacted at Ceolan School of Music on social media.