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music · Sunday 26 July 2026 · 11:00am 
Boyne Music Festival - Amateur Strings Workshop at Townley Hall
At Townley Hall · Townley Hall, Slane, Co. Meath
At Townley Hall · Townley Hall, Slane, Co. Meath
If you play violin, viola, cello, or double bass and have always wondered what it would feel like to make music alongside professionals, this workshop is a rare chance to find out. The Boyne Music Festival’s Amateur Strings Workshop at Townley Hall brings together players of all ages and ability levels for a three-hour session with some of the festival’s featured artists. It is not a performance - it is a shared music-making experience designed to be supportive and enjoyable, finishing with a short informal performance at 1:45pm that friends and family are welcome to attend.
The workshop runs from 11am to 2pm on the final day of the Boyne Music Festival, now in its 13th year under the theme “Forgotten Spaces.” Participants play alongside professional musicians including Ioana Petcu-Colan, leader of the Ulster Orchestra, and other guest artists from the festival lineup. The repertoire includes works by Bach and Grieg, alongside a piece called “Sunflower” by Irish composer Samuel Kane. Refreshments are included in the €40 ticket price, which makes it reasonable value for a half-day of coached ensemble playing in one of the Boyne Valley’s finest Georgian houses.
Townley Hall itself is part of the experience. Built in the 1790s to designs by Francis Johnston - the architect behind much of Georgian Dublin - the house is a neoclassical set piece: local stone walls, a Doric portico, and a domed rotunda with a spiral staircase at its centre. Playing chamber music in a room like this adds a dimension no practice room can replicate.
Townley Hall sits on the Slane Road between Slane and Drogheda, roughly 10 km from Drogheda town centre and about 50 km north of Dublin. By car, take the M1 motorway north from Dublin and exit for Drogheda, then follow the R132 towards Slane. Parking is available at the venue. Public transport to Slane itself is limited - Bus Eireann routes serve Drogheda from Dublin, but you would need a car or taxi from there for the final stretch to Townley Hall.
Slane is a tidy estate village on the banks of the River Boyne, with the ruins of a Franciscan friary, the Hill of Slane, and the famous castle that hosts some of Ireland’s biggest outdoor concerts. There is more to see in Slane and across Co. Meath.
Heading to Townley Hall in Slane? Meath has plenty more to see. Read the Slane area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.