Binn gotha na dtéad

Some of the most well-known commentaries on the Early Irish harping tradition came from outside observers. Gerard of Wales famously admired the great skill of Irish harpers in his Topographia Hibernica, while John Derricke’s Image of Ireland contains what is still perhaps the most widely recognisable (if inaccurate) depiction of the Irish harper. Less well-known, however, are the literary descriptions of harpers, harps and harp music in Gaelic Irish sources. Among the most valuable of these sources is the syllabic poetry of the professional court poets.   

This lecture will examine a number bardic poems which were composed about the harp and the harper between the 13th and the 17th centuries. These include eulogies and elegies addressed to members of the harping profession, odes to harps as the prized possessions of patrons, and satires attacking the performances of harpers. Although these poems provide us with little organological or musicological evidence for the Irish harping tradition, they offer a fascinating and unique insight into the importance of the harper at the Gaelic court, into the symbolic importance of the harp, and into the reception of harping performances.