Deirdre Granville from Dingle, Ireland

Deirdre Granville is a talented harpist from Dingle, Ireland. In this episode, we discuss her educational and performance background and her work with the organization Harp Ireland. We talk a bit about the Irish language, Gaeilge, and listen to beautiful music from her latest album, recorded with her sister Aoife, called Ceo Draíochta.

"Aoife Granville and Deirdre Granville are sisters from Dingle and their music is firmly rooted in traditions of that peninsula. While they have been recording and performing extensively for many years; 'Ceo Draíochta' is their first album as a duo and brings together some of their favourite music and songs from Corca Dhuibhne. Through the recording they breathe new life into many tunes and songs which have not been recorded previously and slot them seamlessly beside marches and songs that are beautifully familiar" 

https://aoifeanddeirdregranville.bandcamp.com/album/ceo-dra-ochta

https:/Aoife&DeirdreGranvilleBiography

https://deirdregranville.com/

https://www.facebook.com/AoifeGranville

https://www.facebook.com/lDeirdregranville

https://www.instagram.com/aoifegranville5

https://x.com/aoifegranville

This Podcast is sponsored by Pedran Harps.

The Pedran Bach is a travel Harp made by Pedran Harps in Wales. They are a small company that uses naturally fallen trees to make their beautiful Harps. On my recent trip to Ireland, I played my Pedran Bach all over the country at Sessions and for recording videos. This is an excellent-quality small Harp with 20 strings, a curved back, and a very pleasant voice. If you are interested in purchasing one, visit www.pedranharps.co.uk and use the promotional code JayHarp26 to get a 5% discount on the Instrument. It is made from Welsh Ash with gut or nylon strings and Rees levers (you can upgrade to Camac for an additional charge). You will also receive a dust cover and a tuning key, and you have the option to upgrade your postage from a wooden crate to a wooden flight case.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:03

You're listening to Opening the Harp Chakra, the podcast, bringing you beautiful, healing, and magical harp music and talking with the artists that create it. I'm your host, Jay Michaels. One of our sponsors here on the podcast is Pedrin Harps, P-E-D-R-A-N Harps. They're located in Wales, and they make beautiful instruments from naturally fallen Welsh wood. It's amazing. And they make a variety of harps. The one I use right now is the Pedrin Bach. It's a small 20-string travel harp with a beautiful tone. Mine is made of ash. And if you're interested in purchasing a pedrin Bach, there's information in the show notes, including a discount on that particular model. Or you can peruse the other models, the larger harps, beautiful harps from Pedrin Harps in Wales. Today's guest on the podcast, an outstanding harp player. She's a multi-instrumentalist. She studied traditional Irish music and classical music as well. She's performed all over Ireland and beyond. From County Carey, the lovely village of Dingle in Ireland, Deedra Granville. Deedra, welcome to the podcast, Faulcha.

SPEAKER_04 1:31

Thanks very much, Jay. Thanks for having me, Gary and Muggus.

SPEAKER_03 1:34

So we met for the first time at O'Sullivan's Courthouse in Dingle. Uh my wife Abby and I were there for a few days in town and we were looking for entertainment. We heard there was a heart player performing that night. So we dropped in and met you and your sister Eva, who were playing that night. It was a just a wonderful performance, so thank you for that.

SPEAKER_04 1:56

Thanks. And thanks for your you and your wife for joining. You you played a few sets and it was lovely. So it's not every every night that you've someone that can actually can play the harp and they come in to hear your session and can play also. So that was lovely too.

SPEAKER_03 2:09

So the pleasure was really all ours. Thank you. I enjoyed playing your harp very much, by the way. Some would argue that Dingle, the village and the area surrounding the Dingle Peninsula, perhaps one of the most beautiful places on the planet. And having visited for a few days, I I tend to agree with that. Have you always lived in Dingle?

SPEAKER_04 2:33

Yeah, I suppose I was I was away for my college years and maybe, you know, different studying and lived away for a few years, but I'm back home now again and was brought up here. Yeah, no, I'm very lucky. It's it is a beautiful place. Um it's back to the rainy weather. We had a bit of high temperatures there for about two weeks, and you wouldn't want to go anywhere. It's just gorgeous, but uh it's back to the rain and the fog again today. So I suppose it's it's not always uh reliable weather-wise, but uh, yeah, I know it is a lovely place to be from. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 3:00

And just as a point of reference for our listeners, we were recording this podcast in early August of 2026. Deidra, I'm wondering if you can tell us a little bit about your beginnings with the harp, your origin story, how you and the harp first came to know and have a relationship with one another.

SPEAKER_04 3:21

Um yeah, I suppose I was lucky that there's four of us in the family with my siblings, and we were very close to where there was a lot of music lessons um being provided between in classical and the we were in the young band here in Fife and Drum, and I was doing piano lessons and things like that. But um I suppose with harp, uh what first brought my attention to it, uh there was a a really um, I suppose, infamous programme uh that's on every Christmas here in Ireland. It's part of the late late show, it's the late late toy show, and I saw the harp being played in the late late, and I just was like, that's it, I want to play that. And uh uh Santi Claus was very good at the time, and he brought me a harp, so it's a long time ago, but um yeah, I was very lucky that that kind of and uh I you know it was hard to get lessons and such as such at the time. Um there was a German man called Adolf Packeiser, he um tunes pianos here still actually, and uh he was kind of self-taught on the harp, but he was teaching other instruments for the school of music here in Dingle, and uh but uh he so he started me off and we were lucky even he brought us touring myself and my sister later on years come around Germany and parts of Europe and things. So yeah, and I was uh that was kind of the first thing that brought me to harp. Yeah, but I went on to go uh I suppose around I went further afield from Dingle to for harp lessons when I was a teenager and stuff, and to a lot of workshops and things later on just to try and get more focus on technique and things. But yeah, that was how I started, I suppose.

SPEAKER_03 4:49

And I understand you attended University College Cork and the University of Limerick. Did you study just harp there or music in general?

SPEAKER_04 4:59

Um music in general, I suppose, with the in UCC in in Cortham. I it it's a music I did music and art, so I I I did the two degrees, so I was kind of doing the B Muz, uh the Bachelor of Music at the same time. So I I sto I kept Irish and maths first for my initial degree, um, and then I went on and just did the music degree. So I was always doing heart, but I was doing it's kind of uh it's a broad degree, so you're doing classical, you're doing ethno, you're doing um, you know, you can focus on what you want there. There's I didn't want to just be zoned into one Irish music. I did want to kind of keep up the classical thing when I was going first. I suppose as it went through it, I I kind of zoned more into the the Irish music I was involved as well with the the trad society and the um I established a harp society. Well, we re-re-established. There had been a harp society at Trenthon years before I got there, and then it had kind of fallen asunder, and then there was a lot of harpers there in my time, so we re-established it and we commissioned a piece um called Air Drawn Curves that we performed. Um so I kind of zoned into more Irish music, but I you I did try to keep on the classical a little bit, and um, but yeah, I suppose the the harp kind of took over um there. But I I I kept kept flute on and and singing for a while, yeah. So and then in UL I suppose then I did just zone into harp. Um I did the masters in performance there um later on in I think that was 2014, I thought or 15. Um so yeah, that was just really to zone into the harp for the year. It was great to get so much time to just just perform, you know.

SPEAKER_03 6:31

So did you ever play the pedal harp or did you stick to just the lever harp?

SPEAKER_04 6:36

I I did actually do a semester of um pedal harp in UCC with Bonnie Schaldine. Um I loved it. Um and I'd love to be able to play the the the concert harp, and I'm afraid the budget doesn't allow me for for managing to buy it. I don't think Santa would bring me one of them now, but uh yeah, I would love to um and I'd like to have done more in college, I think it was just the way it worked out, we didn't I couldn't pick it every every semester, so yeah. Um beside my time back, I definitely would love to be doing that, or have have maybe uh gone to maybe Dublin and zoned into more trying to do pedal harp because I do I think it's a beautiful instrument, I'd love to play it.

SPEAKER_03 7:11

So going from classical to traditional, did your classical training help with that or hinder, or how did that work for you?

SPEAKER_04 7:20

It depends. I suppose it depends on the instrument. I think with with harp it definitely helps, but I think your technique, you really need a good technique um to to manage the the Irish music on the harp. I think I was doing violin, classical violin, all above all through my youth and in orchestras, and but I found actually in terms of trad on the violin, I I I was very bad. Uh I managed to do Cayley bands and things, but I I think I was more classical minded in terms of the violin that I couldn't really manage to get to that level I wanted with the trad on the on the fiddle. Um but I don't think there's that same thing with harp. I think definitely the technique just helps you get better at the tread side. Um but and I think with the same with flute, I see Eve uh my sister did classical flute and I definitely think it just probably helped her as opposed to hinder her. But I so I think it's only really the violin I always thought was the one that you you could have you nearly need to have some kind of bad habits that if you get too good at the classical, it's very hard to kind of relax into that that naturalness you need in in trad.

SPEAKER_03 8:23

Um so yeah, uh and perhaps if you've never played by ear and only read music, it might be a little more challenging because you know trad is usually taught by ear.

SPEAKER_04 8:35

Yeah, I think so. Um I definitely love that I have a good like I defin with piano, I wouldn't be a sight reader. I I always am more I think I used to get in trouble in orchestras, even I I'd learn off certain parts and then I've I zoned out I might miss my cue. And uh uh yeah, you you do need to be a good reader, but I definitely think to get to a good level though, you always by ear, even with classical musicians, you know, see certain piano players and things that they're much better if they're can do it by ear, you know. So um I think it helps to be able to, but you know, I suppose that is the thing with trade. You'll never you can't fully be at your best if you're just reading music. I think you have to let it get into you and get into your head and relax into it so you feel it, you know.

SPEAKER_03 9:20

Yeah, exactly. Like when we play, it's w it's an open door that it's never going to be the same way twice because it's always you feel different in each and every moment.

SPEAKER_04 9:30

Oh totally, yeah. It's it's it's an experience, isn't it? You can't you have to you have to enjoy it and once you get to that uh that level. I know when you're learning it's different, I suppose. There's a certain amount of practice and rehearsals that go in, but definitely when you get to you, you know, you need to enjoy the music for it to be for others to enjoy it, I think.

SPEAKER_02 9:48

You know.

SPEAKER_03 9:49

So you and your sister Ifa have a new CD out. It's called Kyodriakta, which is a phrase in Guelga, the language of Ireland.

SPEAKER_04 9:59

Yes, um Kyodrichth, yeah, it means um like directly translated to be kind of the uh the magical fog or the misty, misty fog. Um and where I'm from in Dingler West Kerry Kurkaguin in general, it's it's always referred to in a lot of folklore. There's a lot of they mention a lot of songs mention the Kyodrichtha, and actually I'm I'm looking out on a very day that has a lot of Kyodrichtha. Um it just is that kind of thing of other parts of the country, it might be a lovely bright day, but you know, West Kerry often there's this real haze that encompasses the whole valley, just so um, but yeah, I we always our granny would have always been referring to it and would always hear of it, but then we just came across this song from Efe collected from Balikon the Skull. Um and uh it's also in a lot of the music on the CD we we collected from the Goodman Canon Seamus um Goodman's collection of music, and uh this is one of the songs in that collection, and then we were lucky to find the lyrics. Um a lovely lady from Cork, Miriam Honavon, um put the lyrics to the music there a few years ago. They the manuscript that had been he always referred to uh I'm I'm wandering here now, but uh uh I I I did a little bit of research. I did my um final year um I suppose uh uh r write up in in um ECC on Canon James Goodman and the collections, and I went up that time to Trinity to look at the handwritten manuscripts. They were published alright in '97 by Hugh Shields. Um but I went up just because there was one of the editions hadn't been published, and always you'd see these lovely handwritten notes saying, I'm better than the other collectors because I sing and I have all the words. I was wondering where are the words, you know. But um about I suppose 10 or 15 years ago, um one a real relative of Canon James Goodman, I think it's his great-grandson or something in England, they were clearing out an attic, and lo and behold, they found manuscripts with all the words. So Miriam put um did a bit of research onto them as well. So she has them available um on her website. Um so it's great, yeah. And I suppose that's what kind of first and we thought, sure, I suppose it's a fitting title for the album. We have lots of music from the Goodman Collection, which is important to us, you know, it's kind of that music that's written down, but that you know it isn't played that often, and a lot of them hadn't been recorded. So um then we thought, yeah, I suppose sure that's a fitting title. I know sometimes then people are saying don't go with the Irish title, but I think it made sense for us, you know.

SPEAKER_03 12:30

So Well, you speak the language and you're part of the the the country as well, right?

SPEAKER_04 12:36

It's yeah, we do, yeah. It's a go out of the region, so um you know, not necessarily everyone in the town at Engle would speak Irish. Um, you know, you'd have a mixture of of people and stuff, but um it would be classes that go out of the town. But I suppose we were lucky our father wouldn't have actually spoken English until he was probably about twelve years old, you know, um when he had to go to school in the secondary. So um we did we were brought up with Irish, you know. So um yeah, it's it's it's lovely to have, you know.

SPEAKER_03 13:03

It is a very beautiful language. I wish I spoke more. I just have a little bit uh cuplafocal as Quelga orum.

SPEAKER_04 13:11

You have your kuplafocal focal driachta now anyway.

SPEAKER_03 13:16

Why don't we play the title track since we're talking about it?

SPEAKER_00 13:19

Okay, great, yeah.

unknown 13:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:22

Kyo Driachtain Tower food killtagon a truth no burn so much crypto snub. She switched on TV shot green village the bone. Da hear them Dah Villa Song Higgle Grove Dah guslake Dahmask, the masking on the honey honey to in deal. New an eleven until each of the name later sham she feels like this me.

SPEAKER_01 17:21

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 17:27

And that is so breathtakingly beautiful. The title track from the new CD CEO Duracta for my guest, Deedra Granville and her sister, Ifa. Thank you so much for sharing that. Wow.

SPEAKER_04 17:42

Thanks, Dave, for for playing it.

SPEAKER_03 17:44

Oh, it's it's just lovely. It's just oh it's so magical, and the the language is just so beautiful and descriptive.

SPEAKER_04 17:51

I'm glad you approve.

SPEAKER_03 17:52

I know, absolutely. Not that you need my approval, but oh I I love it. It's beautiful.

SPEAKER_04 17:57

Thank you.

SPEAKER_03 17:58

So there is an organization in Ireland called Harp Ireland that really supports all aspects of harp from traditional to contemporary. And you, Deidre, are involved in that organization.

SPEAKER_04 18:13

I am, yeah, I'm delighted to be. Um since kind of the beginning, I suppose before we established there, I mean, there is a great organization, um, Chris uh Corden of Crita that runs harp festivals up in the in and loud every year, the International Harp Festival. But I suppose that's just r m more so maybe Republic of Ireland, and I suppose a lot of us harpers and it uh came together um in about 2015 just to talk about where was the harping was going and to try and, you know, the Toner Quinn at the time did a uh a feasibility study and like what was wanted, and um we're saying, you know, an all-island uh shared um organisation was was really needed, you know. So um uh I've been kind of involved in the start. I suppose I'm from a kind of I would call on the immal here in Kerry, and I know I struggled when I was younger to try and find harp tuition and things there was definitely no other harpers, whereas now there's plenty of people playing in Kerry. So I did think it was important to be involved um and kind of uh I suppose fly the flag for the the Kerry side, you know. So um yeah, I've been involved since the beginning. I did more in the beginning, I suppose. I was kind of more involved with the social media while we had less people kind of it's got it's grown fairly quickly, so now thankfully there's some people employed. Um, but uh it again it we could would be hoping for more in the future. Um there's a lot of voluntary work involved. Um Aileen McCrane does um and Aetna and there's a few more doing throw like so much work um for free, so only for them it wouldn't be happening. I'm on the board and I'm also on there's an advisory group. Um, so we I suppose were firmly established in 2016, and then in 2000, we the first thing we kind of worked on was um getting UNESCO status for the harp, and that was brilliant because uh it means just that there has to be safeguarded, um, you know, because it's a thousand-year-old tradition, um, it's our emblem of Ireland, you know. Some people associate it with negative sometimes here because you see the the harp coming and you might be getting a speeding ticket or something like that. So we wanted to kind of be more, you know, a positive thing. So being on the UNESCO list of intangible cultural, I can never get this right, cultural heritage um gives kind of international recognition, so it's huge, and it means it has to be safeguarded for the future, you know, so um and gives a real status. The Pipers had gained that the year before, so we we were kind of wanting to to get the same status, um, and we're hoping then in the future, you know, that um we'll eventually get a building, maybe like a harp centre for um, and you know, that it would be a hub and maybe a uh like an artist residency and all this. So that's the the next project. But um, you know, around the country we we do harp day as well every year in October. I think you've been involved as well. We tried to get as many from around the world now. It's gone. You know, the first year it was supposed to be just in Ireland, but then so many people seem to be coming online and saying they loved this idea of it. So now, you know, like in the last few years, it's spread out as you know, people in all around Europe, Australia, I know a lot in the US. Um, so I suppose we're going to try and grow that. Um, it's a small budget you have, and it's a small team, but you know, uh everyone helps out for that. Um, they organise concerts as well around the country and things like that. So it's pretty much very much um Ireland-based at the moment. But I suppose again in the future we'd love to get more happening maybe internationally if that's you know.

SPEAKER_03 21:45

So October 17th is harp day, Lana Crita.

SPEAKER_04 21:48

Lana Crita, yeah. So yeah, so there'll be lots kind of happening in the one day, and there'll probably be a gala concert um in Ireland, but then a lot of you can submit submit their. Little videos of them playing harp wherever they want across the world, and that all goes up. There's a usually an interactive map then on the Harp Ireland website, and you can go in and click on the place, and there'll be a little video of someone playing sometimes to cows or you know. Um, but we try and do a lot of events. Um, like we I usually do some uh a harp day concert in in Dingle in the D shirt and we do some harp yoga, and uh you know, I know down in Wexford they go all around the different shops and have pop-up little kind of harp uh concerts everywhere. So yeah, lots happening across the country for that.

SPEAKER_03 22:34

So Yeah, you know, we appreciate you and the organization and everything that it does. There are so many people all over the world, and I know here in the States that absolutely adore Irish music, traditional, contemporary, and uh I don't know, perhaps one day we could have a branch of Harp Ireland here in the States.

SPEAKER_04 22:55

Yeah, definitely. We'll have to think about it. Because I know there's that great um there's a lot of harp playing in in the US. Like I know, isn't there? Somerset is such a huge festival.

SPEAKER_02 23:04

Somerset, right.

SPEAKER_04 23:04

Yeah, so um and I know a lot even for the flakyola, a lot come over from the US. There's um I remember I was over in St. Louis one year um judging, and there was a load of harp players for um was it the Midwest Flowers and things, so yeah, there's um uh a lot happening, I think. Yeah, so you'll definitely have to have a branch. Yeah. I suppose it's not just as well, you know, it's not just the Irish harp, it's it's to try and incor you know, promote the the wirestrung harp and the pedal harp and and every, you know, uh bass is to try and keep everyone, you know, that it's it's all encompassing.

SPEAKER_03 23:40

And of course you have the Historical Harp Society of Ireland being headed by Siobhan Armstrong, really promoting and teaching people about the old style of harp, the wirestrung, the Clar Shook in its music.

SPEAKER_04 23:53

Yeah, it's great. And she but she will give talks as well for Harp Ireland and things, so it's you know, she's they're going very strong there and they have their own festival as well.

SPEAKER_03 24:01

So yeah, yeah. Another great harp organization.

SPEAKER_04 24:04

Brilliant, yeah, that's great. So all all going well at the moment anyway.

SPEAKER_03 24:09

Nice. Good to hear. So do you individually or you and your sister Ava have some plans coming up for the next year for 2026 into 2027?

SPEAKER_04 24:20

Yeah, I suppose we're trying to. We have to there was so much work involved, and as you probably know, um just tried to get the last bit of the the the CD done. I mean, it we were we started probably four years ago and it was supposed to be kind of more live things, so um, you know, we we were recorded in Goodman's cottage here on on his land, and um, but then it just didn't get finished, so it delayed out. So then we set a deadline and then there was a lot of work done to get it done in time. So I'm I'm still trying to organise a kind of a tour around it. So we we have some definite things coming up, we'll launch locally, and um then I know we're playing at Electric Picnic, which should be lovely. Um it's a big festival here at the end of August, and uh we're going to launch and do a concert at the Cork Folk Festival as well. Um that's in October, and then there's nothing else definite, but I am in the middle of uh confirming a few dates, so it'll probably run into 2027. We're going to try and tour it and maybe have some overseas dates there included. We're hoping to get back to Paris. I was there in the Centre Culture um a few years ago doing a residency, so I'm hoping to go back there um with the album and maybe do a few concerts then around um France. So can't confirm any of them at the moment, but it at the at the minute I'm confirming lots of dates, so yeah, a planned tour, but uh we'll try and update our websites as well in the meantime. We're better on social media, I suppose, for those things anyway. Usually always putting over where we are, you know.

SPEAKER_03 25:48

So yeah well, speaking of that, what's the best way for people to be updated and to follow you on social media?

SPEAKER_04 25:54

Yeah, well I suppose the album is on band camp is probably the easiest one, but we're both on um we have uh uh an email to contact if you wanted thiefandear to gramble at gmail.com, and then we both are individually on uh Facebook, Instagram. I don't do X or Twitter, but I think Eva does. So you know that that's kind of the uh you can get us any of those those streams anyway, you know. So I I do have the website, but it's it needs to be updated. One of the many jobs that has to be done as a working musician.

SPEAKER_03 26:25

Yeah, as I know, as I know. What I will do is include all your links in the show description here on the podcast so people can go to Bandcamp to YouTube and find out where they can get the music and where they can see you in the future.

SPEAKER_04 26:43

That'll be great. Thanks so much.

SPEAKER_03 26:46

So I would like to feature another selection from your CD. This one, a solo harp piece, very beautiful. It's called Modern Even Erupt.

SPEAKER_04 26:57

Yeah, Modern Even Erach, that's it. So it's kind of um Yeah, again, it's another one from the Canon Goodman's collection of music. Um I think a lot of the music really kind of uh sits with me because I feel like there's there's definitely stuff that has to be of the harpers past um repertoire that just fits so well on the harp. So this is one of them. It's a slow air, um, modern even air could translators. Modern, you know, the morning, even really lovely, like more not just nice, and air, like a fresh, fine morning. So I suppose uh we don't often get them, but uh when we do get those nice days, you know, it's uh it kind of reminds me of you, yeah, you're in a lovely place. So yeah.

SPEAKER_03 27:35

That's the best. We will end the podcast with the beautiful heart music of my guest today, Deedra Grenville. Deidra, thank you so much for being on the podcast. Thank you for keeping traditional Irish music alive. Thank you for keeping the beautiful Irish language Guelga alive. Garev Margot Akara.

SPEAKER_04 27:58

Grimil Margot, Jay, thanks so much for having me.

SPEAKER_03 28:01

Slonge.