Hello and welcome to the third part of our six-part series on Objects and Relics. Last week, we took a look at the Three Values of the Tuatha Dé Danann. This week we’re going to take a look at a new object, an instrument, I should say, that has held great significance in Ireland for centuries. Of course, this instrument is the Harp.
In our series on Heroes, we told you about the Dagda and his quest for Uaithne. But we didn’t really get into the true powers of the harp. As you now know, the Dagda was the only person who could play this harp. He could call fourth all sorts of music and use its magic to change the moods of his friends, as well as his enemies. The Dagda is also said to have used Uaithne to change the seasons. If the Fomorians had succeeded in stopping the Dagda from recovering this harp, Time itself might have lost all meaning. The seasons may have frozen in place or worse, they might have happened all at once.
The Dagda was not the only harp player in the Tuatha Dé Danann. There were many warriors who had mastered this instrument. Obviously, Lugh of the Long Hand could play it perfectly. As could Ogma, which is no surprise considering how much skill is needed to play a harp. There was also Caer Iobharmeith, a woman who visited Aengus an Mac Óg or Aengus the Young Son in his dreams. She would sing to him and play the harp, and even in his dreams, he would sleep again and she would disappear.
Cana Cludhmor is also credited with the creation on the harp. In some sources, she is noted as the Goddess of Music and Poetry. One night, she had an argument with her husband and went on a walk to clear her head. She walked along the beach and heard the most wonderful music. The melody soothed her temper and she sat to rest on the sand. She slept there that night and when she woke, she could still feel the music in her bones. She searched for its source and she found it. On the sand was a beached whale that had long since began to decay. The wind danced through its ribs and plucked the remaining sinews like strings. From this, Cana was inspired. She designed and built the harp, and it is she who we must thank for it.
We have also seen the harp in one of the stories told at our Project Béaloideas events. In Scéalta an tSamhraidh: Summer Stories 2021, Rachel Nic Aodh, shared with us the story of “The King with Donkey’s Ears”. In this tale, the King, Labhraidh Loingseach had a secret and this secret is later shared with a tree. The same tree was later cut down to be used as a harp. When this harp was played, it sang “the king has donkey’s ears, the king has donkey’s ears” and helps the king to accept his differences, and to move past his shame.
So from these stories, we see how the harp often symbolises the end to conflict. It put fomorian Scouts, as well as Aengus Mac ind Óg, one of the Tuatha Dé Danann to sleep. It soothed Cana Cludhmhor and helped her to move past the argument with her husband. And it helped Labhraidh Loingseach, the King with Donkey’s Ears to accept who he was. Clearly the Harp was a symbol of great importance, as well as the music it played.
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