User:Jnestorius/Irish harp

Richard Sainthill in 1841 says change to harp was because Pope presented Brian Boru harp to Henry VIII.

Nicholas Nolan, secretary at the Department of the Taoiseach 1961–72, "according to one story, allegedly counted the number of strings on the Irish state symbol, the harp, on an official letterhead and returned the batch of paper as the incorrect number of strings had been printed for the harp in question".

List
Irish harp

Coat of arms of Ireland Logos of Sports clubs Samuel Beckett Bridge, ?James Joyce Bridge
 * Coins of Ireland
 * ?Banknotes of Ireland
 * Banknotes of the Republic of Ireland watermark
 * Coins of the Republic of Ireland
 * Irish euro coins
 * Seals
 * Irish Republic 1919 has two things called seals:
 * The one in the National Museum of Ireland – Decorative Arts and History is a document stamp.
 * Billy McGuire of Askeaton, a sovereign citizen advocate and self-styled head since 1967 of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, claims that his family began an annual tradition in 1919 of turning a silver harp representing Ireland's sovereignty "from the rising sun to the setting sun, from north to south and from east to west, and from Pagan to Christian to Sovereign"; initially in Vaughan's Hotel, latterly in the Mansion House, Dublin. Councillors and historians regard as eccentric ritual with no historical basis. McGuire says his harp has 12 strings, compared to "eight strings on the harp symbol of the Army, 9 strings on the passport's harp, 13 on official documents of Dail Eireann and 14 on coins". Dublin City Council report says McGuire's harp was one of 32 county court seals of the Dáil courts. Only a few people attended private ceremony until 2002; then public order and policing issues became relevant, and some mayors banned.
 * Great Seal of the Irish Free State
 * Great Seal of Ireland
 * Irish Presidential Seal
 * Irish Presidential Standard
 * Flag of Leinster, Dublin City flag?
 * Green harp flag, Irish Volunteers (18th century), Society of United Irishmen, Irish Naval Service jack;
 * 1st Rejected US Coat of Arms.svg 20 August 1776 report of a committee of the Second Continental Congress to design the Great Seal of the United States proposed "six quarters" representing England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Germany, and "Holland"; the Irish quarter being "verd, a harp or" ("vert" in Pierre Eugene du Simitiere's original text).
 * Royal Cork Yacht Club (1720 Cork Water Club) original flag was union flag with escutcheon of gold harp and crown on green field:
 * rule 5 of its rules
 * (shown in 1737 painting by "Van Hagen"
 * shown in 1757 flag book
 * 1831 warrant has such as Admiral's flag and as Canton of club ensign (otherwise plain red ensign)
 * Royal Standard of the United Kingdom, Flag of the Protectorate, Order of Saint Patrick
 * Green Ensign
 * Misuse Libertas Ireland
 * Public An Tóstal
 * Loyal Trinity College Dublin, Royal Ulster Constabulary, Police Service of Northern Ireland, Ulster Defence Regiment ("harp framed by the Maid of Erin" )
 * Private Guinness (and Harp Lager), Ryanair
 * Soccer Finn Harps F.C., Lochee Harp F.C., Dumbarton Harp F.C., Dundee Harp F.C., Brechin Harp F.C. Maryhill Harp F.C., Taghnevan Harps
 * GAA Harps GAA, Tír Conaill Harps, Skerries Harps GAA, Derrygonnelly Harps GAC, Eastern Harps GAA, Armagh Harps GFC, St. Benedicts Harps GAC, Stewartstown Harps GAC,

Maid of Erin: "In general, the Maid of Erin is associated with symbols of Ireland such as the round tower (historical monuments), harp (musical instrument) and hound (associated with the mythical hero, Cúchulainn)."

Documents illustrated with the harp
commons:Category:Flags with harps commons:Category:Harp of Ireland in heraldry

Orientation
Soundboard on RHS on state arms, on LHS on Guinness logo. King's Inns badge has LHS and RHS symmetric. Fuss in 1940s over whether strings should be vertical or at mirror angle of soundboard.

Was on LHS on Henry VIII coins but switched to RHS when added to royal arms. In 1981 state declined to register RHS variants of logo for fear of Guinness objections. "As I recall it being told to me. The Provisional Government in Ireland wanted the harp to face to the right(as with Guinness) to show a break with royal arms(where faced to left). Guinness family objected in 1921/22 as would mean Govt harp same as their trademark."