It is uncertain who commissioned the Trinity College harp, although structural evidence suggests it was made in the fifteenth century. It is similar in construction and design to the
Queen Mary Clarsach in Scotland. It is likely, however, that the harp was made for a member of an important family, for it is skilfully constructed and intricately ornamented. According to
Charles Vallancey writing in 1786, it was reputedly once owned by
Brian Boru, High King of Ireland in the early eleventh century. However, this link was dismissed by
George Petrie in 1840 as "a clumsy forgery, which will not bear for a moment the test of critical antiquarian examination". Petrie dates its construction "to the fourteenth, or more probably to the early part of the fifteenth century."
Joan Rimmer (1969) dated it to "probably from the fourteenth century". The harp bears the coat of arms of the O'Neills but although there are many theories about its ownership through the centuries, none can be substantiated, with no verifiable evidence remaining to indicate the harp's original owner, or subsequent owners over the next two to three hundred years until it reputedly passed to Henry McMahon of
County Clare, and finally to
William Conyngham, who presented it to Trinity College in 1782. The Trinity College harp is the national symbol of Ireland, being depicted on national heraldry, Euro coins and Irish currency. A left-facing image of this instrument was used as the national symbol of
Ireland from 1922, and was specifically granted to the State by the
Chief Herald of Ireland in 1945. A right-facing image was registered as a trade mark for
Guinness in 1876, although it was first used on their labels from 1862. Other Irish businesses have used a similar harp as a logo or trade mark, including
Ryanair. The two other surviving Gaelic harps from this period (the
Lamont Harp and the
Queen Mary Harp) are considered to have been made in
Argyll in South West Scotland sometime in the 14th–15th century. ==Appearance==