What symbol is printed on the Irish euro coins?

Irish euro coins all share the same design by Jarlath Hayes, that of the harp, a traditional symbol for Ireland since the Middle Ages, based on that of the Brian Boru harp, housed in Trinity College, Dublin. The same harp is used as on the official seals of the Taoiseach, and government ministers and the Seal of the President of Ireland. The coins' design also features the 12 stars of the EU, the year of issue and the Irish name for Ireland, "Éire", in a traditional Gaelic script.

All Irish euro coins bear the same design on their obverse side: a Celtic harp based on the Trinity College Harp, flanked to the left and right by the word "ÉIRE" (Irish for Ireland) and the year the coin was struck, written in Gaelic type. These in turn are surrounded by the 12 stars of the flag of Europe. On the one-euro coin the stars appear on the gold coloured surround with the harp and words in the silver coloured centre. The colours are in the reverse for the two euro coin.

More Info: en.wikipedia.org

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12 Comments

Susan McInnis Paradis

not just any harp, it's a Celtic harp

dmarkc

Susan McInnis Paradis, it's hard to believe there are many types of harps around. Sometimes I go hours without seeing a single one of any type.

fdeisner

I thought the answer was a leprechaun sitting on a shamrock playing a harp in front of St Patrick.

Carole Vermillion Laffey

Had to use "majorice option" since all four answers were logical.

earlepg

John W Shreve, Would have made an interesting scene. For the answer, I went the double chance route, shamrock and harp.

deborahpmercer

Good question, and oh, if only the UK had joined!

Joe Mangan

English sculptor Percy Metcalfe was chosen from six designers to design the first coinage of the Irish Free State in 1928, consisting of eight coins. The harp was chosen as the obverse. Depicted on the reverse, the horse, salmon, bull, wolf-hound, hare, hen, pig and woodcock, all on different denominations of coinage, were known as the Barnyard Collection. Metcalfe's design based on the Trinity College harp was adopted as the basis for the Great Seal of the Irish Free State in 1923 and has remained the model for all official representations of the harp emblem on seals of state, Irish coinage and the coat of arms. In the febrile atmosphere of the 1920s The Irish government deliberately avoided coins with political or religious symbolism. Sadly, with the exception of the harp these beautifully simple designs were not replicated in Ireland's euro coins. Metcalfe also designed coins for Egypt and Iraq.