(Photo: Some of the members of Blossom Harp Ensemble together with Adjudicators and harp builder, Brian Callan, at the Tuamgraney Harp Competition. BACK ROW (L-R): Anna Eggersberg, Adjudicator, Corinna Hewat-Dawn, Adjudicator, Eoin Muldowney, Sarah Cunningham, Breege Clarke, and Brian Callan. FRONT ROW (L-R): Molly Kenny and Farragh Clarke.)
Local traditional group, Blossom Harp Ensemble, are celebrating their recent win at the Tuamgraney Harp Festival. The competition is the only one dedicated to harp groups in Ireland, “so it’s a kind of All-Ireland competition” says Elisabeth Affolter, the founder of the ensemble.
Elisabeth, better known as Lizzie, was born in St. Servan (close to St Malo in Brittany). She is a well-known figure in musical circles in Ballinasloe and has a connection with Ireland dating back to the late 1970’s, touring with a Breton group, An Delen Dir. She has been playing the harp for about 50 years and moved to Ireland in 2010 to take up a teaching role with the Irish Harp Centre in
Castleconnell, Co Limerick. She started her own harp school in late 2012.
Having first settled in Co Clare, Lizzie decided to move to Ballinasloe in 2019 for various reasons. “I had more students in Ballinasloe than in Clare; the roads were very bad in winter, and I had to pay rent for rooms where I was teaching. Altogether, I realised that it would be better for me to buy a house in Ballinasloe and teach at home.”
She wasn’t impressed with her earliest visits to the town, however. “Honestly, when I visited houses here in 2011, I found the town sad and grey, which is why I bought in Clare. But by 2019, the town was so changed. There was more culture, the new library had been built, there were lots of events in the Town Hall Theatre and Moore Community Centre, as well as four trad music sessions a week”, she explains.
Lizzie founded Blossom Harp Ensemble in 2013 and currently includes seven members ranging in age from eight to 16. Members of the ensemble were also successful in solo competitions at Tuamgraney. Sarah Cunningham from Mountbellew received second place in the solo event, while Aoife Duane received first place in the Novice category, with Muireann Clarke of Offaly coming third in the same category. Molly Kenny from Offaly also won first prize in the group competition with her mother and cousin.
Molly Kenny (8) has been playing the harp for two and a half years, and says: “It makes me feel happy and excited when I play with the other harpists, it’s very relaxing when we play our slow tunes together.” She was “delighted” to win the Tuamgraney competition, and “proud of myself and the other harpists”. Meanwhile, Eoin Muldowny (14), says that he “enjoys being in the ensemble and playing tunes with people I know. Playing with others helps develop my harp playing…I like that I can relax when playing the harp.” Elisabeth echoes her students’ sentiments, saying that, for her, “playing with others is the most important thing”.
The ensemble also recently took part in the Navan Choral and Instrumental Festival recently secured first place in the under 20 section, picked up two Adjudicators’ special mentions as well as runners up in the individual with Noreen Murphy.
They will spend the summer preparing for autumn events, including National Harp Day on October 17, when they will be playing in Moore Community Hall.
