Which European country has a harp as a national symbol?

Which European country has a harp as a national symbol? Ireland. The harp is Ireland’s heraldic emblem and appears on the country’s coat of arms as a gold harp with silver strings on a blue shield.

The symbol has deep medieval roots: references to a harp as the arms of the king of Ireland appear as early as the 13th century. Henry VIII adopted the harp for the Kingdom of Ireland in 1541, and it later appeared in the united royal arms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.

After the Irish Free State separated from the United Kingdom in 1922, the harp became the emblem of the independent Irish state. The arms were registered with Ireland’s Chief Herald in 1945. The modern design was influenced by the late-medieval Gaelic harp displayed at Trinity College Dublin, often called the Brian Boru harp, although it dates from later than Brian Boru’s lifetime.

The harp appears on Irish coins, passports, and official seals. It is also used commercially, so Guinness’s harp logo can sometimes cause confusion about which version is the state emblem.