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Statue of Eire
Irish army button
Monument to Francis Prendergast
19th century carved bogwood harp ornament
Irish baseball
Irish Euro
Harp Lager label
The earliest evidence of the harp as a symbol of Ireland occurs in a record of arms, the Winjnbergen Roll, in the 13th century, and is still on the Irish coat of arms today.
The harp appeared on Irish coinage, and the English coat of arms, during the reign of Henry VIII, and remained there in various forms until Irish currency was removed from circulation in 1822.
The recent Irish Euro also features a harp.
The Green Flag, which is the traditional flag of Ireland, also displays a harp. It is recorded that the Society of United Irishmen in the 1790s first used this flag in rebellion in 1798 and its popularity with similarly motivated groups continued into the 20th century until the Fenians preferred the tricolour flag that is Ireland's current flag.
The harp has been used in family heraldry as well as the heraldry of the state. Some Irish families display the harp on their coats of arms, the families Dobbin, Markham and Morrogh being good examples.
The harp was also used as a symbol of Ireland in the political allegorical art of the 19th century. The harp alone, as in the 1842 illustration by Barney Maguire, or in the female allegorical figure of Eire, as in The Weekly Freeman December 1882.
The harp also appears on a large amount of Irish public sculpture, especially memorials, from the 19th century onwards. The allegorical figure of Eire is generally attached to the harp in these sculptures, but the harp alone does appear, as in the 1916 Rebellion Memorial in Dublin.
The harp image is used extensively in Irish government today, it appears on the presidential standard, seal and flag and also on the arms of Ireland.
It is also used by Dublin City Council in a stylised form, as the harp is the traditional arms of county Leinster in which the city of Dublin stands. The harp also decorates the uniforms of the Irish army and police force.
The image of the harp is used by brands and corporations such as Guinness Stout and Harp Lager for commercial purposes, but they are not permitted to use the same image that the Irish Government uses.
The Irish Baseball League also uses the harp as a corporate logo, so do many other sporting teams. Small businesses, pubs and societies also use the harp as a logo, to denote 'Irishness' or to show harp subject matter, for instance many Irish pubs employ the harp logo and so do many harp societies and harpists.
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