Re:Story Limerick - harping on about Limerick

The Harp, Ireland’s national emblem features on passports, flags, coins, pints of Guinness and official documents. The design is based on Ireland’s oldest surviving string instrument ‘The Brian Boru Harp’. You can see this harp today in Trinity College Dublin, but did you know that it originated in Limerick?

The harp was commissioned by Cairbre O’Brien around the year 1220 in old Limerick City. Cairbre lived in the court of his father Dónal Mór, the Last King of Munster, who’s buried in St Mary’s Cathedral beneath an ancient tombstone. The O’Brien palace reputedly stood on the site of Limerick’s ancient cathedral and the O’Briens moved from Killaloe to Limerick after the city was taken from Vikings centuries earlier.

The O’Brien Harp was taken from Limerick to Scotland and then to Westminster by King Edward I until, eventually, King Henry VIII gifted the harp to the Burkes of Galway. Somehow, by the year 1760 the harp had made its way back to Limerick again. It was in the possession of Matty McNamara, a Limerick judge living in Castleconnell. McNamara presented this ancient relic to a famous harper named O’Neill, who restrung the harp to hear its sweet music for the first time in over 500 years. The harp was paraded through the streets of Limerick city to the tune of ‘Eireann go Bragh’and hundreds gathered to listen to the mythical harp back in its rightful home once again.

Today Limerick’s last remaining harp maker is keeping this ancient craft tradition alive. Patrick Looby, a student of Gaelcholáiste Luimnigh, makes exquisite hardwood harps from scratch. Lúbhaigh Harps have 26 strings, are free-standing, easily portable and a perfect choice for beginners. Prices start at €700. A range of silverware has been designed and made locally as Limerick’s answer to Galway’s iconic Claddagh design. ‘Crota na gCroíthe, the ‘Harp of Hearts’ is a stunning silver pendant symbolising the natural rhythm and music of life. Both these products and more are available in-store or online at Re:Story Limerick.

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