The Uilleann Pipes and The Harp: A Story of Survival at Corlea Trackway

What to Expect

Noel Carberry, one of the guides at Corlea Trackway, gives a forty five minute visual presentation on two instruments that nearly went out of Irish life altogether and came back. The harp survived the collapse of the Gaelic patronage system that supported harpers like Turlough O’Carolan, and the uilleann pipes came close to extinction in the twentieth century before Na Piobairi Uilleann and a handful of surviving makers pulled the tradition back. The talk traces both stories through images rather than performance.

It runs as part of the Heritage at Risk strand at Corlea during National Heritage Week, and the framing is deliberate: instruments and craft skills count as heritage at risk in the same way that a bog road or a ringfort does. The talk is programmed as a lead-in to Fuaim na Saoirse at 4:00 PM the same afternoon, when local musicians play harp and pipes in the same building, so hearing the history first and the instruments after works well.

Good to Know

• Sunday 23 August 2026, 2:00 PM to 2:45 PM.
• Corlea Trackway Visitor Centre, Keenagh, Co. Longford, N39 XT18.
• Booking is required. Email corlea@opw.ie or phone 043 332 2386, daily 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
• Admission was listed as to be confirmed. General entry to Corlea Trackway is free in 2026.
• Presented by guide Noel Carberry.
• Same day at Corlea: a bog walk and talk with guide Mary F at 12:00 PM, an Irish Sign Language tour at 3:00 PM and the Fuaim na Saoirse harp and pipes recital at 4:00 PM.
• The final day of the Eigse Lughnasadh and Heritage at Risk programme, which runs from 15 to 23 August 2026.

Getting There

Corlea Trackway Visitor Centre is roughly 15 kilometres south of Longford town, out on the bog west of Keenagh village. From Longford, take the R397 or R392 towards Keenagh and follow the brown heritage signs. From Ballymahon it is about ten minutes north on the R392, and from Athlone take the N55 north and turn off at Ballymahon.

Parking is free with plenty of spaces, which is worth knowing on the closing Sunday when four events run back to back. There is no scheduled bus to the trackway, so drive or arrange Local Link in advance. Allow around 20 minutes from Longford town, 15 from Ballymahon and about 35 from Athlone or Roscommon town. The centre has level access and accessible toilets.