IRELAND REP 1 PENNY 1996 UNC STYLIZED BIRD AND VALUE,IRISH HARP

WEIGHT:3.56g
SIZE:20.3mm
METAL:COPPER PLATED STEEL

 THE HARP AND CELTIC HARP MUSIC HAS BEEN AN IMPORTANT
EMBLEM OF IRISH NATIONALISM SINCE THE 10TH CENTURY.
KING GRIFFITH OF WALES EMPLOYED HARPISTS IN HIS COURT AT
THE END OF THE 11TH CENTURY. BY THE END OF THE 12TH CENTURY,
MANUSCRIPT ILLUSTRATIONS SHOW HARPS WITH MORE ADVANCED
DESIGNS. THE IRISH WERE BY THEN PLAYING HARPS WITH BRASS,
OR BRONZE, STRINGS. RECORDS FROM THE 15TH CENTURY
THAT BOTH THE TERMS "HARP" AND "CLARSACH" WERE IN USE AT
ABOUT THE SAME TIME AND SEEMED TO HAVE BEEN A
DISTINCTION BETWEEN GUT-STRUNG HARPS AND WIRE-STRUNG
GAELIC CLARSACHS OF SCOTLAND AND IRELAND.