| Coat of arms of Ireland | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Versions | |
 Thebanner of arms, which serves aspresidential standard | |
| Armiger | Ireland |
| Adopted | 1945 (registered: Arms of Ireland)[1]c. 1541 (recorded: Kingdom of Ireland),c. 1280 (recorded: King of Ireland) |
| Shield | Azure a harp Or, stringedargent (Irish:Cláirseach órga le sreanga airgid ar ghorm) |
| Earlier version | .svg)  .svg) |
| Use | The harp is used on allActs of Oireachtas; theseal of the President; the cover ofIrish passports; various government departments; the obverse ofIrish euro coins. It is also used in the United Kingdom, where it appears in the lower-left quadrant of theroyal coat of arms of the United Kingdom and is incorporated as a badge into devices used by official bodies inNorthern Ireland. |
Thecoat of arms of Ireland isblazoned asAzure aharpOr, stringedArgent (a goldharp with silver strings on a blue background).[2] Thesearms have long beenIreland's heraldic emblem. References to them as being the arms of theking of Ireland can be found as early as the 13th century. These arms were adopted byHenry VIII of England when he ended the period ofLordship of Ireland anddeclared Ireland to be a kingdom again in 1541. When the crowns ofEngland,Scotland and Ireland wereunited in 1603, they were integrated into theunified royal coat of arms of kingdoms ofEngland,Scotland andIreland. The harp was adopted as theemblem of theIrish Free State when itseparated from theUnited Kingdom in 1922. They were registered as the arms of Ireland with theChief Herald of Ireland on 9 November 1945.[1]
The depiction of the harp has changed over time. When the arms were restored as the arms of the independent Irish state in 1922, a late-medievalGaelic harp (acláirseach), theTrinity College Harp, was used as a model.
Several variants of the arms of Ireland exist, including aheraldic badge and an infrequently usedcrest andtorse. The Lordship of Ireland, the medievalrealm of Ireland that existed between 1171 and 1541 under the English crown, had a separate arms, which are blazonedAzure, three crowns in pale Or, bordure Argent (three golden crowns ordered vertically on a blue background with a white border). A variant ofthe arms of theancient royal province of Meath were also apparently used at one time as the arms of Ireland.
It is sometimes claimed that Ireland is the only nation whose national symbol is a musical instrument,[3] but this is not strictly accurate: thekundu drum is the symbol ofPapua New Guinea, thekaryenda drum formerly appeared on the flag and arms ofBurundi, and thearms ofTrinidad and Tobago depict thesteelpan.[4][5]
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Asheraldry is essentially afeudal art, it was not until theNorman invasion of Ireland in 1169 that Irishcoats of arms came into being, several decades after the art began to take seed in England andcontinental Europe. The earliest reference to aherald of arms for Ireland was in 1392 on the creation of the firstIreland King of Arms. The Ireland King of Arms, which was under the EnglishCollege of Arms, was succeeded by an independentUlster King of Arms, and anAthlone Pursuivant, in 1552, which despite its name had jurisdiction for arms over all of Ireland. In 1943, the Ulster King of Arms was merged with the Norroy King of Arms in England to form theNorroy and Ulster King of Arms. The office of theChief Herald of Ireland was created as successor to the Ulster King of Arms and the arms of Ireland were registered by the Chief Herald of Ireland on 9 November 1945.[citation needed]
However, reference to the harp as the arms of the king of Ireland can be found in one of the oldest medievalrolls of arms. The Wijnbergen Roll, a French roll of arms dating fromc. 1280 and preserved inThe Hague,Netherlands, attributed "D'azure a la harpe d'or" (English:Blue with a harp of gold) to the King of Ireland ("le Roi d'Irlande").[6][7] The harp, traditionally associated with thebiblicalKing David, was a rarecharge on medieval rolls and only two arms with a harp are listed in a collection of 19 early rolls.[8] Triangular devices appeared on medieval Irish coinage by kingsJohn andEdward I in the 12th and 13th centuries. These devices may have been crude harps or it may be that the harp developed from the use of triangles to distinguish Irish coins.[9] The idea of a harp being the arms of Ireland may have originated as a reference to a fictional character,le roi d'irelande, in the courtly legend cycle ofTristan. Alternatively, it may have derived from a celebrated 13th century bardic poem,Tabhroidh Chugam Cruit mo Riogh, dedicated to Donnchadh Cairbreach O'Briain (d. 1242), a GaelicKing of Thomond.[10]
Whatever its origins, the harp was adopted as the symbol of the newKingdom of Ireland, established byHenry VIII, in 1541. A document in the Office of theUlster King of Arms, from either the late reign of Henry VIII or the early reign his son ofEdward VI, states that they were the arms of the kingdom of Ireland.[10] The arms were incorporated into the unifiedRoyal Coats of Arms of England, Ireland and Scotland upon theUnion of the Crowns of the three kingdoms in 1603. Upon the secession of theIrish Free State from theUnited Kingdom in 1922, the harp was taken as the emblem of the independent Irish state.
Today, the image of the harp is used on thecoins,passports andofficial seals ofIreland and is incorporated into the emblems of many bodies inNorthern Ireland, such as thePolice Service of Northern Ireland. The harp is frequently incorporated into the emblems of Irish companies, such asGuinness andRyanair. It appears on the arms of countries with historical links to Ireland or the United Kingdom, such asMontserrat andCanada. In 1984, exemplars of the modern design, approved by the Chief Herald, were registered by theGovernment of Ireland with theWorld Intellectual Property Organization underArticle 6ter of theParis Convention, which relates to state emblems.[11][12][13] The government only registered "left-facing" images, with the harp'ssound board on the right. While theAttorney General's office felt that right-facing images should also be registered, patent agents advised this might be interfere withGuinness Brewery's use of such harps in its logo since the 1870s.[14]
As well as being the arms of Ireland, since 1945 the harp is the arms of eachpresident of Ireland whilst in office.[citation needed] Typically, the arms are borne as abanner in the form ofa presidential standard. The standard is flown overÁras an Uachtaráin, the president's residence inDublin, atDublin Castle, when the president is in residence and onvehicles used by the president. Like other presidential androyal standards, it is never flown athalf mast. However, the Presidential Standard never takes precedence over theflag of Ireland, whereas, for example, theRoyal Standard of the United Kingdom takes precedence over theflag of the United Kingdom.
TheLordship of Ireland, themedievalrealm of Ireland that existed between 1171 and 1541 under theEnglish crown, had separate arms. A commission ofEdward IV inc. 1467–8 into the arms of Ireland found them to beblazonedAzure, three crowns in pale Or, bordure Argent (three golden crowns ordered vertically on a blue background with a white border).[10][16][17] The association of these arms with Ireland is likely to have originated with Irish magnates (bothNorman andGaelic) who fought inEdward I's Scottish wars at the turn of the 14th century. These were the arms ofEdmund the Martyr, which the Irish lords adopted as their banner in the same way as English lords identified withthe banner of St. George. However, these arms were also well known in other medieval contexts and are often attributed toKing Arthur.[10]
It is believed that the three crowns were abandoned as the arms of Ireland after Henry VIII's split withthe Papacy. Strictly speaking, following the Norman invasion of the 12th century, Ireland was a feudal possession ofthe Pope under the overlordship of the English monarch. The decision to change the three crowns arms may have sprung "from an idea that they might denote the feudal sovereignty of the pope" — whosetiara has three crowns — "whose vassal the king of England was, as lord of Ireland."[6][17]
Despite this, the memory of the three crowns arms may have remained for a time with oneElizabethan variant of the harp, sometimes found on coins, maps and seals as early as 1562, using of the three harps, one replacing each of the three crowns of the lordship's arms. This appears to have been a creation of the newly established Ulster King of Arms and never captured the popular imagination sufficiently to replace the single Harp arms that was in use from the reign of Henry VIII. Thus, at the funeral cortège of Elizabeth I in 1603 depicted in a manuscript at theBritish Library, theEarl of Clanrickarde is shown carrying thebanner of Ireland just as in the Wijnbergen Roll.[10]
A variant of arms of theroyal province of Meath were also apparently used at one time as the arms of Ireland. Meath, now a part of theprovince of Leinster was once the province of theHigh Kings of Ireland. Its arms are of a king sitting on a throne on a blue field. The variant apparently used as the arms of Ireland were of amajesty on asable (black) background instead of an azure (blue) field.[11]
The design of the harp used by the modern Irish state is based on theBrian Boru harp, a late-medievalGaelic harp now inTrinity College Dublin.[note 1] The design is by an English sculptor,Percy Metcalfe. Metcalfe's design was in response to a competition held by the state to design Irish coinage, which was to start circulation in December 1928. Metcalfe's design became the model for future official interpretations of the harp as an emblem of the state.[citation needed]
The modern design is markedly different from earlier depictions. During the 17th century, it became common to depict the harp with a woman's head and breasts, like a ship'sfigurehead, as the pillar.
It is not necessary to show a full complement of thirty strings, provided that the numbers do not fall below nine (notwithstanding the illustration to the left).[11] The strings are always silver and the harp is always gold.
The harp is shown on a blue background. The colour of the field is sometimes calledSt. Patrick's blue, a name applied to shades of blue associated with Ireland. In current designs, used by the UK and Irish states, the field is invariably a deep blue. The use of blue in the arms has been associated withGormfhlaith, aGaelic mythologicalpersonification of Ireland. The wordGormfhlaith is a compound of theIrish wordsgorm ("blue") andflaith ("sovereign"); it is noted in early Irish texts as the name of several queens closely connected with dynastic politics in the 10th and 11th century Ireland. TheNational Library of Ireland, in describing the blue background of the arms, notes that in early Irish mythology the sovereignty of Ireland (Irish:FlaitheasÉireann) was represented by a woman often dressed in a blue robe.[11]
A crest, which was little used, is thought to have been created for the ascension ofJames I.[18] Thiscrest was blazoned:A tower triple towered or, from the portal ahart springing argent, attired and unguled also or.[19] Thetorse was Or and azure.[19] The torse and crest were apparently little used even during the period of the Kingdom of Ireland. Unlike Scotland, Ireland did not reserve the right to bear a distinct coat of arms within theUnited Kingdom. The crest and torse are not employed by the Irish state today.
Historically, the harp was frequently seen surmounted by a crown. In this case, the depiction is asheraldic badge, adevice used to indicate allegiance to or the property of someone or something.Elizabeth I used the badge as her secondGreat Seal of 1586. This motif had earlier featured of the coins of the Lordship of Ireland during theTudor period and continued to be used on the coins of the Kingdom of Ireland. Following the creation of the United Kingdom, the device was used on the cap badges of theRoyal Irish Constabulary and later theRoyal Ulster Constabulary. The badge can be seen today on the cap badge of theRoyal Irish Regiment of theBritish Army. The harp, unsurmounted by a crown, is used as a badge in Ireland today, but the harp surmounted by a crown is also found (e.g. in 'colours' ties of Trinity College sports teams).[citation needed]
The arms of Ireland are withoutsupporters. However, historically, some depictions of the arms have been accompanied by various supporters. For example, during the lateTudor period, depictions of the arms appeared accompanied by adragon and a lion, representingWales andEngland. The Tudors were monarchs of England but of Welsh descent. In later centuries, following theunion of the crowns ofEngland andScotland, depictions appeared accompanied by a lion and aunicorn, representing England andScotland. Other depictions included two stags, representing Ireland, or a stag and a lion. However, none of these were ever a part of the blazon and should be interpreted in terms ofartistic licence.[citation needed]
Several mottos associated with Ireland and have also been used alongside representations of the harp, including the patriotic slogan,Erin Go Bragh (English:Ireland Forever),Quis separabit? (English:Who will separate [us]?), the motto ofthe Most Illustrious Order of Saint Patrick, andIt is new strung and shall be heard, the motto of theSociety of United Irishmen. However, no heraldic motto has ever been granted to Ireland and none ever accompanies the coat of arms.[citation needed]
As well as the coat of arms, which shows the harp on an Azure (blue) field, Ireland has long been associated with aflag also bearing the harp. This flag is identical to the coat of arms but with a green field, rather than blue, and is blazonedVert, a Harp Or, stringed Argent (a gold harp with silver strings on a green field).
The earliest-known record of the green flag is attributed toEoghan Ruadh Ó Néill, a 17th-centuryexile and soldier in the Irish brigade of the Spanish army. His ship, theSt. Francis, is recorded as flying from her mast top "the Irish harp in a green field, in a flag" as she lay at anchor atDunkirk en route to Ireland.[11] Ó Néill was returning to Ireland in order to participate in theIrish Confederate Wars (1641–1653), during theWars of the Three Kingdoms (a series of civil wars engulfing England, Ireland and Scotland), where he would contribute as a leadinggeneral. Variants of the green flag were flown byUnited Irishmen during the1798 Rebellion and by theIrishémigréin foreign armys, such as theIrish Brigade of theUnion Army during theAmerican Civil War (1861–1865) andSaint Patrick's Battalion in theMexican Army during theMexican–American War (1846–1848).
Although the Kingdom of Ireland never had an official flag, this flag is recorded as the flag of Ireland by 18th- and 19th-century sources. It was used as anaval jack and as the basis for the unofficial greenensign of Ireland, particularly during the 18th and 19th centuries. The flag is identical to thearms of the province of Leinster. It is believed that the Leinster arms are derived from it, rather than the other way around.
The arms of the four traditionalprovinces of Ireland are popularly displayedquartered as arms of Ireland. The quartering is usually in the orderLeinster first,Connacht second,Ulster third andMunster fourth. The resulting arms are frequently displayed in the form of abanner. They also appear as charges in other arms and emblems. For example, the arms of theGenealogical Office, which is headed by the Chief Herald of Ireland, are the four provinces shown quartered beneatha chief Gules, charged with aTudorPortcullis Or between two Scrolls Argent (a red band with a gold Tudor portcullis between two silver scrolls).[10]
Thearms of Leinster (Vert, a Harp Or, stringed Argent) are believed to have likely evolved from the arms of Ireland itself with a change oftincture. Similarly,Munster's arms (Azure, three antique crowns Or) are thought to have been derived from those of the former Lordship of Ireland, or from the short-liveddukedom of Ireland created forRobert de Vere in 1386. The crowns now usually depicted as "antique" or "eastern": a gold rim with eight sharp, triangular rays, of which five are seen.[21]
Thearms of Ulster are the arms of thede Burgh,Earls of Ulster, combined with thered hand seal ofthe O'Neills. These two dynasties and symbols are inseparably linked to Ulster. The combination of them is blazonedOr, on a Cross Gules, an inescutcheon Argent, charged with a dexter hand erect aupaumee and couped at the wrist Gules.[10]
Finally,Connacht's arms are blazonedParty Per Pale Argent and Azure, in the first an eagle dimidiated and displayed Sable in the second issuant from the partition an arm embowed and vested, the hand holding a sword erect, all Argent. These are believed to have been adopted from the arms of the medievalSchottenklöster (Gaelic monastery) inRegensburg,Germany. The arms of the Regensburg Schottenklöster, which date from at least the 14th century, combinedthe arms of theHoly Roman Emperor (from whom the abbey received protection)dimidiated with a symbol that may be linked with the crest of theO'Brien dynasty arms (an 11th-century O'Brien is listed as the "fundator" of the abbey). The arms may have been granted toRuaidrí Ua Conchobair,King of Connacht and the lastHigh King of Ireland before the Norman invasion, by the abbey as a gift to return his patronage. The arms were given as the "old tyme arms" of Ireland by the AthlonePursuivant, Edward Fletcher,c. 1575 and, with slight change of tinctures, became the arms of Connacht in the seventeenth century.[10]
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