The O'Neill harp

Dated to the 17th or 18th Century

Also known as the Carolan harp

Kept at the Belfast Museum.

"High Headed" design;
36 strings, longest 118cm

There is a colour photo of this harp in Early Music, vol.36, no.4, Nov 2008 p.526

This harp was in the late 19th Century described as the harp of Carolan or as the harp of Arthur O'Neill (1737-1818). Neither is likely to have any truth; Arthur O'Neill is depicted playing a quite different instrument with a scroll at the head (Click here to see a picture). However the harp may well have belonged to a different O'Neill at some point.

References

Simon Chadwick