HARP OF THIRTY STRINGS
Edward Bunting was aware that the number of strings on the Gaelic harp varied in his own
time. However, he seems not to have found one with less than thirty strings. His comment that
this was 'the usual number of strings found on all the harps at the Belfast meeting, in 1792'
must be qualified by his information that the harps of Rose Mooney, Daniel Black and Charles
Fanning had thirty three, thirty four and thirty five strings respectively.
His statement makes the most straightforward sense of the evidence if we interpret him as
regarding the thirty string tuning as being a minimum stringing and, possibly, a minimum tuning
system. He theorised this stringing as corresponding to that of the O' Neill harp held by Trinity
College, Dublin, which also has enough holes for up to thirty strings. Subsequent
organological research suggests that, using brass wire, the pitch of the Trinity O' Neill harp
was probably several pitches higher.
Donnchadh ó hAmhsaigh (Denis O' Hampsey) was the owner of the Downhill harp which is
presently held in the Guinness 'Storehouse' at St James' Gate, Dublin. It also has enough
holes for thirty strings. Edward Bunting's published tuning chart in the Introduction to his 1840
edition of The Ancient Music of Ireland is for thirty strings and it partially reflects his
description of tuning of the 'Hempson Harp 1702' in MS29 of the Bunting collection held in
Queen's University, Belfast.