Origin and History of the Harp
The harp is the national symbol of Ireland and the Celtic harp appears on Irish Currency and is associated with popular Irish brands such as Guinness and Ryanair. The harp also features in many Irish Mythology stories. The most famous Irish harp was called Uaithne and belonged to the Dagda who was an important God in Irish Mythology. The Dagda was a protector of the people and legend tells us that his magical harp played itself!

One of the most famous Irish harp players was Turlough O'Carolan who was blind. Born in Ireland in the 18th century, he was famous for playing the Harp but was also a composer and a singer. He is commonly known as Irelands national composer. The most popular Irish Harp is the folk harp, pictures of several of these beautiful instruments are shown on this page.

Harp Irish Symbol - Names
Edward Bunting (1773 - 1843) describes the following variations of the Irish Harp in his book 'The Ancient Music of Ireland' 1840:

• Clarseach; - Common irish harp

• Cinnard-Cruit; - High-headed irish harp

• Crom-cruit; - Down-bending irish harp

• Ceirnin - Portable irish harp which was used by the priests and religious people

• Craiftin Cruit; - Craftin's irish harp

• Lub - Poetical name of the irish harp

Harp Irish Symbol - Description
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument, the strings are made from a variety of materials including wire, silk, nylon or gut.
The plane of the harp's strings are positioned perpendicularly to its soundboard. Musically the harp is in the category of Chordophones (as are all stringed instruments) but it has its own sub category, Harps. 

All harps are made up of a neck, resonator and strings. Frame harps also have a pillar, Harps without a pillar are known as open harps. The harp can be played while held in the lap if it is small enough but more often the Harp stands on the floor and the harpist sits next to it on a small chair or stool to play the instrument.