Dalway harp

The Dalway harp, Cloyne harp, or Fitzgerald harp is an early modern Irish harp whose extant fragments are in the National Museum of Ireland – Decorative Arts and History.^[1] It was made in 1621 by Donnchadh fitz Teig (Donatus Filius Thadei) for Sir John MacEdmond Fitzgerald of Cloyne in County Cork^[2] (grandson of John Fitzedmund Fitzgerald of Youghal). Richly carved, with 52 strings, it was originally painted in bright colours and has inscriptions in Latin and Irish, including Ego sum regina citherarum "I am the queen of harps".^[2][1][3] These were translated by Eugene O'Curry.^[4] It was described in 1809 in Edward Bunting's Irish Melodies, which has an engraving of it as its frontispiece.^[5][6] At that time it was owned by the Dalway family of Bellahill, Carrickfergus, County Antrim. Correspondence from about 1849 records that Marriott Dalway snr believed the harp had been "found in a bog near Larne".^[7] By 1809 the sound board had been lost;^[5] in 1849 Dalway said it had been lent to a "Mrs Sherrard, a native of Dungannon ... living in Thorndale, Dublin" to transcribe its inscriptions;^[8] however, Armstrong says it was the forearm (pillar) that was lent to Sherrard, since only one piece, probably the harmonic curve (neck), was exhibited in Belfast in 1852.^[9] The remains came into the Royal Irish Academy collection in 1876/7.^[10] Along with the Trinity College Harp, it was one of two harps used as a model for the harp on the obverse of the coins of the Irish Free State. Several reconstructions have been made, replacing the missing sound board, including at the Irish Industrial Exhibition in Cork in 1852, and for the National Museum in the 1990s.^{[citation needed]}

An old drawing of the Dalway harp from the 13th ed. Encyclopædia Britannica

References

Sources

• "Dalway Harp or Cloyne Harp". www.wirestrungharp.com. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
• Armstrong, Robert Bruce (1904). "The Fitzgerald or Dalway Harp". The Irish and Highland harps. Musical instruments. Vol. Pt. I. Edinburgh: David Douglas. pp. 65–70. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
• Billinge, Michael; Shaljean, Bonnie (May 1987). "The Dalway or Fitzgerald harp (1621)". Early Music. XV (2): 175–187. doi:10.1093/earlyj/XV.2.175. JSTOR 3127480.
• Clark, Nora Joan (2003). The Story of the Irish Harp: Its History and Influence. North Creek Press. pp. 55–57. ISBN 9780972420204. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
• Fagan, Martin (April 2011). "Catalogue of The Graves Collection [Special List A037]" (PDF). Royal Irish Academy. Retrieved 24 October 2019.

Citations

1. Thuente, Mary Helen (2011). "The Harp as a Palimpsest of Cultural Memory". In Frawley, Oona (ed.). Memory Ireland: Volume 1: History and Modernity. Syracuse University Press. pp. 52–65: 63–64. ISBN 9780815651505. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
2. de Blacam, Aodh (1943). "Ireland That Might Have Been". The Irish Monthly. 71 (837): 123–131: 129–130. ISSN 2009-2113. JSTOR 20515114.
3. Rensch, Roslyn (2017). Harps and Harpists, Revised Edition. Indiana University Press. p. 103. ISBN 9780253030290. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
4. O'Curry, Eugene (1873). "XXXII: Of music and musical instruments [ctd.]". On the Manners and Customs of the Ancient Irish: A Series of Lectures. Vol. III. Edited, with an Introduction, Appendixes by W. K. Sullivan. Williams & Norgate. pp. 291–293. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
5. Bunting, Edward (1809). A general collection of the ancient music of Ireland, arranged for the piano forte; some of the most admired melodies are adapted for the voice, to poetry ... London: Clementi. Frontispiece and p.26. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
6. Clark, Nora Joan (2003). The Story of the Irish Harp: Its History and Influence. North Creek Press. p. 55. ISBN 9780972420204. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
7. Graves Collection Catalogue 24 O 39/JG/ 144
8. Graves Collection Catalogue 24 O 39/JG/ 67 and 143
9. Armstrong 1904 p.68 fn.1
10. "Report of the Council for the year 1876–7". Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. Ser.2, Vol.II. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy: clxxix. 1875–1877. Retrieved 23 October 2019.