Coat of Arms of the Republic of Ireland
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
The Brian Boru harp also referred to as the Trinity College harp or simply the Brian Boru, is the coat of arms of the Republic of Ireland. The harp was selected as the state emblem on the establishment of the Irish Free State, and one of its earliest treatments was on the Great Seal of the Irish Free State, although it was not officially registered as the arms of the state until 1945-11-09.
The official heraldic description is:
- A harp or, stringed argent, on a field azure.
The harp was recognised as a symbol of Ireland since the 13th century, and first appeared on Anglo-Irish coinage of 1536 during the reign of Henry VIII. The Brian Boru harp dates back to the late 14th century and is on permanent display in the Long Room of the library of Trinity College, Dublin - it is the oldest surviving Irish harp. This harp was named after the High King of Ireland, Brian Boru, but as he died about 400 years before it was made, it did not belong to him.
The image of the harp is used on Irish coinage, passports, and government documents, it is also the official seals of the President, Taoiseach, Tánaiste, government ministers and other officials. The harp on 1928 coinage was also based on the Galway harp, whilst a much modified version was introduced on 1939 coinage and the present Irish euro coins are largely based on this.
See also
External Links
- Department of Foreign Affairs - Government of Ireland: Facts about Ireland (http://www.dfa.ie/information/publications/facts/fai/historystate.asp)
- The Brian Boru Harp (http://www.clarsach.net/Grainne_Yeats/brian_boru.htm)
- Henry VIII Harp Groat - H & I (http://www.irishcoinage.com/J00050.HTM)
