Hi Helen, my interest in Irish harp goes back to a recording in my parents' record collection. My comments are on a Mudcat thread about Deirdre Ní Fhlóinn, because she was the artist on my parents' LP.
No, I ended up getting classical piano lessons and took that to university, where I veered away from solo piano and took to accompanying choruses and solo voice students in recital. I don't play the harp.

And regarding Derek Bell, I have not heard his Carolan albums, so I have a question: did he record these albums with a wire-strung harp (chlairseach)? He was quoted as saying that he would not tour with a wire-strung harp because keeping them tuned was harder than keeping a nylon-strung harp tuned. But I heard he did make studio recordings with a wire-strung harp, is this true?   Thanks!