Island Men Returning - Jack B. Yeats (1871-1957) The brother of poet William Butler Yeats, most of Jack B's scenes were inspired by a childhood spent in the west of Ireland. He said later in life that 'every painting had in it somewhere a thought of Sligo'.

The 'National Flag of the Sacred Green' proclaimed by the United Irishmen. It symbolises our Gaelic antiquity & national, cultural identity.

In 1541, Henry VIII adopted the harp as symbol of Ireland on coinage - Later on the harp appeared on a blue field as the national emblem.

The Green harp flag was first used by Owen Roe O'Neill in the Irish Confederate Wars in 1642. The green stands for nationhood & rebellion.

The earliest depictions of the Celtic harp are found on 8th c. stone relics in Scotland, suggesting the harp was a Pictish innovation.

The Brian Boru Harp on display in Trinity College, Dublin. An Irish national icon, it's one of only three surviving medieval Gaelic harps.

The triangular harp does not appear in Ireland until the 10th century on the St. Máedóc shrine - A harpist is depicted in song.

'Deus Meus Adiuva Me', a medieval Irish & Latin hymn composed by Mael Ísu Ua Brolcháin who died 1086. https://youtu.be/YCSeo-P-P_E

"In the case of musical instruments i find commendable diligence in the Irish people." - Gerald of Wales on medieval Irish music.

The Irish military diaspora stretches far and wide - France, Spain, USA, UK, Mexico - nearly all have fought under the sign of the Harp.