The Harp

Black frothy nectar of the gods, aka Irish holy water


Modern day Irish passport with the harp emblem

Irish birth certificate with the harp emblem on the top


Irish death certificate with the harp emblem on the top


First of all on this fine day, Happy St. Patrick's Day to all those who are as truly Irish as wet grass and to all those sozzled wanabees.

Now as you stare blankly at that fifth pint of Guinness before you, you may begin to ask yourself the question, why is there a harp on the Guinness pint glass? Sometimes when you've had a few, the abundance of alcohol provokes questions about the mysteries of life. So for what it's worth, here's the answer to the harp symbol question on the Guinness pint glass.

Contrary to what the Egyptians may claim, the invention of the harp 1000 years ago, the musical instrument, is rooted in Irish history. In fact, the last High King of Ireland, Brian Boru, was an accomplished player of the harp in the 10th Century.

As the harp story is told in Frank Delaney's brilliant book, Ireland, "the wife of Breffni O'Rourke, a Sligo chieftain, liked to walk the sands at Rosses' Point...one morning she heard quite a different sound coming from the sands." The melodic sounds would come and go with the wind. It was a pleasing sound, a sound she had never heard before.

Upon closer inspection, Lady O'Rourke discovered a beached rotting carcass of a whale "mounted high and wide like a monument." She stood transfixed at the site and the sound. "The silver noises she heard came from the rib cage, where the sea breezes danced through the bones." Lady O'Rourke was so taken by the sound that she was moved to tears. She immediately ran to tell the others at the castle of her discovery. "The whale's bones were making music." They thought she was daft.

Her castlemates ran to the beached whale and also heard the lovely sounds. Upon returning to the castle with confirmation that Lady O'Rourke was not crazy but true. She then told them to return to the whale "listen to the sound of the wind in the bones of the whale, and then come back here and devise a means for making that music."

Without hesitation, a crude wooden "ponderous-looking" instrument was fashioned and curved like the whale's rib cage. The heavy instrument was wheeled into the castle yard and was placed in the direction of a westerly wind. "To their great delight, the instrument made sounds even more beautiful than the carcass of the whale."

But there were two major problems with the design. One, it was as big as a wagon. It could only be used outside and in Irish weather that is not good. Two, as the sun sets, the wind diminishes and the music would stop.

As the castle experts wrestled with the inherent problems of the instrument, a young boy of nine, the castlekeeper's son, with a proclivity for musical genius said, "I'm suprised the wind wants to play this at all...it's too unfriendly. These wooden bones-they offer no welcome to a musician."

The young boy surmised that the wooden slats simulating the whale's rib cage were not supple enough. The boy concluded, we need "something that would bend to the fingers." If the fingers could play music, then the wind would not be needed. But the carpenter asked the young boy, "what would make the music?" The boy responded, "the slats don't make the music, the music is made down there in the bellows, where the vibrations echo from the blown bones."

The carpenters and music makers went back to the drawing board with their young protege in tow. A smaller frame was conceived that had a narrow bellow. The wooden staves were replaced with long strands of "gut taken from the stomachs of cows and waxed with the grease of a goose." A couple of weeks later, the much smaller version of what is now known as the harp with pliable strings entered through the front door of the castle. Triumphantly, that evening the O'Rourke's and their guests were entertained with the finest and sweetest sounds the isle had ever heard.

Over time, the symbol of the harp became the official emblem of Ireland. To this day, the harp emblem is shown on the flag of Leinster, Presidential seal, official documents and even on Irish passports as shown above in the photos.

But the ubiquitous symbol of the harp on the Guinness pint is one of the most recognizable logos in the world. Oddly enough for some peculiar Irish reason, the Guinness harp emblem faces one way, while in Ireland, the country's harp emblem faces the other way.

So, there you have it, probably more than you need to know. Ireland and the harp. In fact, Ireland is the only country in the world that has a musical instrument as its national symbol. Which is only fitting since Ireland is known as the country of saints, scholars, dance and music.

In sum, Ireland not only gave the world the magic of the harp but also a damn good beverage as well, Guinness stout.

Be safe, cheerful and smart out there tonight.