Síle Larchet Cuthbert, First Principal Harpist of Ireland's NSO, Dies at 103

Síle (Sheila) Larchet Cuthbert, the first principal harpist of the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, died peacefully at home on 14 October in her 104th year. The orchestra announced her death and paid tribute to a musician whose career spanned four decades at the heart of Irish orchestral life.

The facts tell the shape of that career plainly. Born in Dublin in 1923, the daughter of composer John F. Larchet, she joined the Radio Éireann Symphony Orchestra — the ensemble that later became the National Symphony Orchestra — in its very first year, 1948. Her sister Máire joined alongside her. Sheila stayed at the principal harp desk until her retirement in 1988.

That's a forty-year run with one orchestra, from its founding broadcast era to the modern RTÉ (Ireland's national broadcaster) institution. Very few musicians in any country can claim that kind of continuity with a single ensemble.

What survives beyond the orchestra?

Larchet Cuthbert's influence runs wider than her playing. Her book, The Irish Harp Book: A Tutor and Companion, has, in the orchestra's words, "guided generations of harpists." A tutor is a teaching manual; hers became a standard reference for the instrument in Ireland.

The orchestra's statement adds that "her legacy lives on in the many musicians she taught and inspired." So the practical answer to what she leaves behind is twofold: a printed method still in use, and a lineage of students who passed through her studio.

How did the orchestra mark her later years?

The relationship didn't end at retirement. The National Symphony Orchestra welcomed her back for its 70th and 75th anniversary celebrations. In 2023, for her 100th birthday, players marked the occasion in rehearsal — by performing Happy Birthday in her honour.

The orchestra extends its sympathies to her daughter Mary, her extended family, friends and former colleagues. It closes its statement with the Irish blessing "Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam" — may her soul be at the right hand of God.

Larchet Cuthbert's death closes a direct living link to the founding year of Irish state broadcasting's symphony orchestra — and her tutor book ensures her name stays on the music stands of harpists who never heard her play.