If you've ever passed by our Classical shop, you may have seen different harps on display in the window. It is certainly one of the more striking instruments to present and possibly more often than other instruments, passer-by's stop and admire the design. This raises the questions as to what makes the harp such a distinctive image and why does it evoke such interest?

The harp is possibly the most poignant symbol of Irish traditional music and indeed of Irish identity. It isn’t easy to assess how long the harp has been played in Ireland, however we have surviving artistic representations of the instrument and written references as early as the 9th Century. A beautiful example is the ‘Ullard High Cross’ of Kilkenny, which is dated to the 9th Century and features King David of the Old Testament playing the harp on the right section of the cross. Historians have outlined two main types of harps that were common in Ireland during this period. The first is the Cruit, which was a small hand-held harp that usually did not have many strings. The second is the Cláirseach and it is what most people associate with the modern harp. It generally had around, or more than, twenty-eight strings and was played similarly to the modern tradition, with it being set on the floor and the harpist sitting down behind it.

In medieval Ireland, the harp was the instrument of the aristocracy and harpists were among the most respected individuals in Gaelic society that existed outside of power structures of the time, namely the regional chieftains and the clergy. This privileged position within a society that was politically fractured, prone to conflict and at danger from external forces allowed for the development of a tradition that developed its own independent style and structure that was passed on through generations of harpists and that was unique to the island and other Celtic speaking areas of Ireland and Britain. Following the Tudor conquests of large areas of the island in the 16th Century, this important instrument was recognised by the English court and the harp was made the official symbol of the newly established ‘Lordship of Ireland’ concerning heraldry and coinage.

However, as the Gaelic order of Ireland declined in the early modern period, so too did the harp decline as the dominant and emblematic instrument of the island as it no longer had the support and nourishment of the Gaelic aristocracy. Thankfully some of the music composed did survive throughout this decline and was played and performed on other instruments. A perfect example of this is ‘Fáinne Geal an Lae’ which is now better known in its modern form as ‘Raglan Road.’ It was first composed in the 17th Century by Sligo Harpist Thomas Connellan, and has even been covered by international artists such as Ed Sheeran.
Following the Gaelic Revival of the late 19th Century and the growth of the independence movement of the early 20th Century, the harp became yet again a central instrument in Irish traditional music and an important emblem of Irish cultural identity. You would be unlikely to see the harp in a modern traditional session in a local pub, however. Its place in the modern era is not unlike that of the piano. It is an instrument that requires years of dedicated training and is a highly respected art form that is mostly performed on stages and concert halls around the country.

Today the harp is found on the flag of Leinster, the Irish Presidential Seal and on the trademark of possibly the most widely recognised beer in the world, Guinness. However, it is important to remember the harp is above all an instrument and a tool to express, and one that has over one thousand years of tradition behind it. Although, its position in Irish society is perhaps unique as there are few other examples of a musical instrument being the dominant collective symbol of a nation for such a long period of time.