Ireland’s national symbol is the harp. It is the only country in the world with a musical instrument as its national symbol. The harp can be found on Irish coins, passports, and government documents.
In mythology, the harp was created by the Celtic goddess CanaCludhmor, who was the goddess of dreams, inspiration, and music. She was
inspired to create the harp when she was walking on the beach one evening and
was put to sleep by beautiful music. When she woke up, she realized the music came
from the wind blowing sinews attached to a whale’s skeleton that had washed
ashore. This became the design of the harp.
The harp is said to be one of the oldestinstruments in the world. It consists of a frame with strings running from
top to bottom. It is said that the harp was brought to Europe from Egypt by the
Phoenicians.
By the 10th century, harp music became an
important part of Irish culture. Brian Boru, the last High King of Ireland, is
rumored to have been an accomplished harp player. In 1531, Henry VIII declared
himself to be the High King of Ireland and made the harp the national symbol of
Ireland.
Eventually, the harp was seen as a threat to the British
crown, so harps were burnt and harpists were killed. This included traveling
musicians. The harp was banned, and the tradition died off.
After 200 years, the harp tradition was revived. In 1792, a festival
was set up to help commemorate the return of the harp. There were ten hap
players who attended this festival. The event was documented by organist Edward
Bunting. Thanks to Bunting’s notes on the event, people were able to learn about
the Celtic harp tradition once again.
Today, the symbol is based on the Brian Boru harp. This harp
can be seen in Trinity College’s museum. As mentioned, the harp can be seen on
currency, flags, and documents in Ireland. Guinness has a harp as its symbol, but
it faces the opposite direction of the traditional harp symbol.
Not only does the harp resemble its own history throughout
Ireland, but it also represents the importance of music to Irish culture.
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