Irish Harping: Legacy and Living Traditions Symposium

Cruitireacht Éireann: Oidhreacht agus Traidisiúin Bheo

IN ASSOCIATION WITH CRUIT ÉIREANN AND THE UNIVERSITY OF GALWAY

THURSDAY 25TH SEPTEMBER, 2025, UNIVERSITY OF GALWAY

Keynote Speaker - Dr Ann Buckley (Trinity College Dublin)

This symposium is a collaboration between Harp Ireland, the International Council for Traditions of Music & Dance (ICTMD) Ireland and the School for English, Media & Creative Arts, University of Galway. Keynote speaker Professor Ann Buckley (Trinity College Dublin) will deliver the Annual Harp Ireland Lecture at the symposium, which is sponsored by ICTMD Ireland this year. This symposium is one of a series of events which mark the twentieth anniversary of ICTMD Ireland in 2025.

This symposium celebrates the diverse harp traditions and practices of Ireland. Prospective participants are encouraged to submit proposals that resonate with this overarching theme. We look forward to welcoming participants engaged in research across all musical genres in the fields of ethnomusicology, practice-based research and complementary disciplines. This symposium encourages participants at all stages of their career, and a diverse range of research methods and practices. Proposals may be submitted in English or Irish (Gaeilge), with proposals for bilingual presentations incorporating both languages also welcome.

Themes

Approaches/topics may include:

• Historical/contemporary performance practices, styles and repertoire

• Practitioner-focused research

• Harping & interdisciplinarity (e.g. language, literature, history, etc.)

• Critical cultural approaches to harp research/harp performance

• Issues of identity/identities

• Issues of access

• International perspectives

• The harp and well-being/healing practices

• Sound studies

• Harp structure and Making

• Harp pedagogy

The symposium will also feature a lunchtime concert by Cormac de Barra, hosted by the University of Galway’s Arts in Action Series. A concert organised by Harp Ireland will take place that evening at Claregalway Castle, featuring Kathleen Loughnane, Catriona Cannon and Máirín Ní Dhonnchadha.

Submission Guidelines

Proposals are invited for:

• Papers (20 minutes with 10 minutes for questions)

• Panels (2 or 3 linked papers around a theme, totalling 1 or 1.5 hours)

• Roundtables (2 or 3 shorter presentations, around 15 minutes each, followed by a chaired discussion, totalling 1 or 1.5 hours)

• Performance-based presentations or workshops (with durations as above)

• Posters

• Films or other media presentations (again, with durations as above)

• Collaborative presentations that include one or more practitioners, performers or other research participants.

To submit a proposal, please send an email attachment (.doc or .docx, not .pdf) to harping2025@universityofgalway.ie by 5pm Thursday 15 May with the following details:

• Title of paper & abstract (max 250 words)

• Full name and institutional affiliation

• Short biography (max 100 words)

• Please state whether you are proposing:

  • Individual paper

  • Panel

  • Roundtable

  • Poster

  • Performance-based presentation or workshop

  • Film or other media presentation

  • Collaborative presentation

Abstracts for individual papers should be no more than 250 words. For panels and roundtables, please send paper abstracts of no more than 250 words each, together with a panel/roundtable description of no more than 100 words. Please submit all information in a single Word document. Proposals will be anonymised prior to peer review, and applicants will be notified of the review process outcome by 30 May 2025.

The symposium will be run in accordance with the ICTMD Ireland Code of Conduct (https://www.ictmd.ie/about). By taking part in the symposium, you agree to be bound by this code. Please note that this conference will be delivered entirely in person at the University of Galway.

Conference Committee

Dr Ann-Marie Hanlon (University of Galway, Symposium Chair), Aibhlín McCrann (Harp Ireland), Dr Síle Denvir (DCU), Catriona Cannon (Harp Ireland, University of Galway), Professor Máirín Ní Dhonnchadha (University of Galway), Marianne Ní Chinnéide (University of Galway)

Programme Committee

Dr Ann-Marie Hanlon (University of Galway), Professor Tríona Ní Shíocháin (University of Galway), Dr Síle Denvir (DCU), Catriona Cannon (University of Galway), Dr Helen Lawlor (TU Dublin), Dr Úna Monaghan (Queen’s University Belfast)