Myth, Magic & Music; The Bardic Heritage of Iveagh - Anne Harper

This will be a journey through time in mythology, history, and musical performance. Anne will explore the roots of the fascinating Poetic traditions and how they helped to shape society. Her talk also examines some of our own important (but largely overlooked) Bardic heritage of poetry, music and landscape.

Anne Harper is a local musician, storyteller, and educator. Forever torn between archaeology and music, Anne opted to study music and graduated at the top of her class from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, going on to perform as a clarinettist with all the major orchestras in Scotland and Ireland. However, inspired by her Harper ancestry and a desire to explore the music of her homeland, these days she can just as frequently be found performing on the harp and telling stories!

Anne’s passion for archaeology and heritage came to the fore when the centre of Iveagh’s royal ritual landscape and a place dear to her own heart, Knock Iveagh round cairn, was damaged by unlawful development. Along with her colleagues in the ‘Friends of Knock Iveagh’, she has been instrumental in adding multiple new sites in the area to the archaeological record, including a likely C16th bawn house which may have belonged to Viscount Arthur Magennis. Their research has been published in Archaeology Ireland.

As part of her work to protect and promote the heritage of Iveagh, Anne has spent years researching the landscape, mythology and stories of Pre-Christian Ireland, the Magennis chieftains, and the Poets and Musicians they employed.

Anne runs popular ghost story tours of Rathfriland and Drumballyroney, along with the TikTok channel ‘Mythic Ulster’ and she presents the ‘Homespun History’ podcast with Dr Gavin Hughes. Inspired by the hereditary Poets of the area where she now lives and by her own ancestors, Anne blends music, history and storytelling, crafting an experience that is as educational as it is entertaining.’

Rathfriland Women’s Institute online ticket sales powered by TicketSource