UILLEANN PIPES
Something of an innovative twist on the common bagpipes, the distinctively Irish instrument, the uilleann pipes first emerged in the 18th century. The name is derived from the Irish word ‘uille’, meaning ‘elbow’, which refers to the pipes’ method of inflation, and was first applied to the instrument in the beginning of the 20th century by composer and author William Henry Grattan Flood.
Notably quieter than the bagpipes, uilleann pipes are powered by bellows instead of a blow pipe and also feature a chanter or ‘melody’ pipe with a range of two octaves in contrast to a range of nine notes on older pipes.
HARP
Hugely popular in ancient Ireland, the harp featured prominently for entertainment purposes in high society as harpists were regularly called upon to play for chieftains and create music for nobles. The instrument would become something of a lost art for a time following the Flight of the Earls in 1607, which saw native Irish chieftains flee the country under threat of invasion. As a result, harpists scattered throughout the land, playing where they could, before the instrument enjoyed a welcome rebirth in the 18th century.
The traditional Celtic harp was wire-strung and had no pedals as opposed to today’s gut-strung harp. The Celtic iteration was also a lot smaller and was originally held on the harper’s leg, leaned against the left shoulder. The famous ‘Trinity College Harp’ – also known as ‘Brian Boru’s harp’ and presently seen on the Irish one euro coin – is one of the oldest surviving Celtic harps, dating back to the 15th century. The famous instrument can be seen on display in the Long Room at Trinity College, Dublin.