Purse strings hold the key to harp festival

Nobody seems sure why visitors have been leaving coins at the grave of Turlough O'Carolan outside the village of Keadue, Co Roscommon where the annual International Harp Festival continues until next Sunday.

Some view it as a wry comment on the need for investment in this annual tribute to the composer and harper who lived locally and who himself survived thanks to the patronage of the lady of the local big house.

Now in its 28th year, the festival organisers are still seeking funds for a harp centre for the village.

Harp students from around the globe have spent the past week attending classes in the most unlikely venues including the local presbytery, credit union office and several private houses.

Yesterday the festival was officially opened by Roscommon builder Alan Hanly - a sign of the times perhaps, given that in previous years the formalities were performed by a series of political heavyweights including Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and Albert Reynolds.

Mr Hanly, who is currently turning Kilronan Castle outside Keadue into a five-star hotel, recalled fondly that his first taste of the O'Carolan festival was the night of his 21st birthday when he went there with his parents looking for a late drink.

All week traditional music students from Serbia, Israel, Russia, Britain, Italy, the US and Ireland have been studying everything from concertina and flute to uilleann pipes and tin whistle in temporary classrooms around the village.

It took 12-year-old Sofija Sibinovic 10 hours to make the trip from her home in Belgrade to Keadue. After reading about the event on the internet she was determined to participate.

The harp competition at the event has a prize fund of €2,500.