Irish Music Tours and Straw Craft Ireland

Irish Music Tours and Straw Craft Ireland

At Irish Music Tours.ie we pride ourselves in bringing our guests to experience, not only Traditional Irish Music, but also the Culture and Heritage of Irish life. As time moves on and technology and innovation take over, alot of the old skills and crafts are often lost. There are a few who dedicate themselves to preserving these old traditions, either because it is an old family tradition or they believe it is important to keep these skills as a reminder of the old ways that generations before us lived.

One such person is Co. Armagh native Paul Carville who runs Straw Craft Ireland. Paul is continuing on the tradition of using straw to weave and sculpt anything from household items to items of clothing using only the medium of straw. Paul is carrying on a tradition he learned from his grandfather, himself a master craftsman. Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney’s poem, ‘A Harvest Bow’, was penned about his own father who was also a master craftsman working with straw. The poem is Heaney’s recollection of his father and his experience of watching this master craftsman at work. You can listen to the poem here, read by Seamus Heaney himself, and you can picture the scene in your mind as Heaney draws the image through his words as only he can.

Paul’s work is widely used and recently he was commissioned to provide some of the props that are seen in the latest blockbuster movie, ‘Dracula Untold’.

As part of our Great Northern Traditional Music Tour, we are delighted to have Paul conduct a workshop with our guests when we visit the Lough Neagh Discovery Centre on the outskirts of Lurgan, Co. Armagh. Our guests will get the opportunity to see this master craftsman at work while at the same time get to make their own item in straw that they can keep as a reminder of their visit.

Our Great Northern Traditional Music Tours depart from Dublin, visiting Dundalk, Armagh, Belfast, The Causeway Coast and Donegal. Click here for  Great Northern Traditional Music Tour  departure dates.

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