Mid-west harpist to play Ed Sheeran track on Kilimanjaro

An Irish team will depart Dublin Airport on Monday (July 17) set to climb Mount Kilimanjaro and attempt to break a world record by playing a twenty-minute harp concert at the summit of 19,000ft.

The team of 19 includes Caroline Heffernan from Galway, a person with cystic fibrosis and CF Advocate with Cystic Fibrosis Ireland, and Siobhan Brady from Limerick, a harpist who is attempting to break her own record of playing the harp at 16,000ft on the Himalayas.

In support of the challenge, President Michael D Higgins has presented the team with his poem, ‘The Prophets Are Weeping’ which will be read by Caroline and Siobhan will play ‘Little Bird’ with permission from Ed Sheeran.

The team, which includes Pat Falvey, mountaineer and lead climber, will start climbing on Thursday, July 20, and aim to summit on July 25 at 5am Irish time. The journey will be filmed by cinematographer Shane Joyce, from Limerick, who will document the event from Dublin airport to the live performance at the top of Kilimanjaro and plans to release a documentary in the future.

Commenting on the challenge, Fergal Smyth, Fundraising Manager, CFI says: “Cystic Fibrosis Ireland would like to wish the Highest Harp concert team the very best of luck on their amazing Kilimanjaro record breaking challenge. Thank you so much for taking on this mammoth challenge which aims to raise €100,000 to help support people with cystic fibrosis in Ireland. We can’t wait to see the live concert all going well on Tuesday, July 25, from the summit of Kilimanjaro.”

The team have also been collecting resources to donate to The Plaster House, a local charity which aims to improve the lives of children living with treatable disabilities across Tanzania.

“Living with a chronic condition all my life, I understand the challenges faced by children with disabilities, so I felt it was important to support the local community while we are there. We have collected fifteen suitcases of arts and crafts materials, underwear, school jumpers, GAA equipment and importantly PPE, which have been generously donated to us by family and friends to hand over to the hospital,” Caroline explains.

FURTHER DETAILS

The team’s progress can be followed on any of the Cystic Fibrosis Ireland’s social channels and donations can be made at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/highest-harp