Ireland

Irish Harp

A part of the long history of harps in Ireland, the Irish coat of arms and the Guinness logo are modeled after the same harp at Trinity College.

The harp has been a part of Irish culture & mythology for millennia. The Irish goddess/mortal woman Cana Cludhmor (aka Canola) is said to have fallen asleep to the sound of music by the sea. When she awoke she realized the music was being made by sinews attached to the ribs of a rotting whale. From this she created the first harp (… or possibly her husband did). The Dagda, the chief god of Irish mythology, was said to own a magic oak harp named Uaithne that could fly to him when called. Playing this harp The Dagda could summon the seasons, bring peace, and more. (That said Uaithne may have been the name of his harpist and not the instrument itself.)

Henry the VIII and Elizabeth the I both admired the Irish harp while also stamping it out in Ireland. — Henry VIII and Elizabeth I both admired the Irish harp while also stamping it out in Ireland.

An instrument of politics

The coat of arms of Ireland is a gold harp set on a blue background. It’s the only country to have a musical instrument as its national symbol. The harp had been the heraldic symbol of Ireland since at least the 13th century but Henry VIII officially made the harp the symbol of the Kingdom of Ireland when he declared himself king of the land in the 16th century. Also Henry was apparently quite the musician himself, playing the harp among other instruments.

While the harp was an emblematic part of the British crown it was also a symbol of Irish resistance. In the 16th and 17th centuries harp music was enjoyed in the English royal court while simultaneously being outlawed in Ireland. The English government looked to stamp out Irish culture in order to control the people. In 1603 Queen Elizabeth I ordered harpists to be executed and their instruments destroyed. In 1652 the Act for the Settlement of Ireland was intended to subjugate and ethnically cleanse the Irish people which, among other things, again outlawed Irish harp playing.

Irish republicanism and militant groups have long used the harp as a symbol. In 1642 Owen Roe O’Neil used a gold winged harp on a field of green as his flag. The Irish forces in the Rebellion of 1798 used a similar flag. In America the Fighting 69th were a Union regiment in the American Civil War, made up up of mostly Irish immigrants, who had a flag of a sunburst and a harp. During the Irish War of Independence in the early 20th century a green flag with a simpler golden harp, along with the tricolor flag and the plough & stars flag, were used by the Irish fighting against the British.

the Trinity College Harp — The Trinity College harp, aka Brian Boru’s harp, is the oldest Irish harp in existence and the basis for many logos.

Brian Boru’s harp / Trinity College harp

The modern harp design on Ireland’s coat of arms, its coins, passports, stamps, etc. is modeled after the 14th or 15th century harp currently on display at Trinity College in Dublin. The Trinity College harp is also known as Brian Boru’s harp, named for the 11th century High King of Ireland, but the harp wasn’t his as it was made hundreds of years after Boru died.

It is unknown who the harp’s original owner was but given the elaborate construction it was most likely a high status individual. Its medieval design is similar to two other harps currently in Scotland and is the oldest Irish harp in existence.

the Guinness and National harp — Both the Guinness harp and the harp used for the symbol of Ireland are based on the Trinity College harp – one faces left and the other faces right.

the Guinness logo & the Republic of Ireland

In 1862 Guinness began to use a stylized version of the Trinity College harp in their branding and made it their trademark in 1876. When Ireland became a free state in 1922 the government looked to use a stylized version of the same harp but was faced with an odd problem. While the idea of representing Ireland with a harp had existed for hundreds of years, a stylized version of the Trinity College harp was already a registered trademark of Guinness. The solution: flip it.

The Guinness harp faced to the right and so the Republic of Ireland faced theirs to the left – both are modeled after the Trinity College harp, but face opposite directions.

Added info: created in 1960, Guinness named their lager beer brand Harp and used the same harp in its logo. You can see the Trinity College harp at the far end of the very photogenic Long Room in the Library of Trinity College.

Also the Samuel Beckett Bridge crossing the Liffy in Dublin is designed like a harp laying on its side.

A great crash course on the Irish harp.

Bog Bodies of Ireland

Peatlands are beneficial watery environments (… with the occasional human body hidden away).

Around Ireland you find peatlands – wetlands where, over thousands of years, Sphagnum moss and other plant matter have accumulated and degraded. These areas have watery, acidic, and anaerobic conditions so the organic material within peat lands break down but never fully degrades. This long drawn out layered accumulation & compression of vegetation means peatlands are a carbon sink. Despite covering only 3% of the Earth’s surface peatlands store more carbon than all the world’s forests combined.

Peatlands and peat harvesting — Peatlands have been a source of fuel in Ireland for centuries.

Beyond the environmental benefit, peat (aka “turf” in Ireland) can be a building material as well as a fuel source. Peat has been harvested for centuries in Ireland where it is cut from the ground into long rectangular briquettes, dried (it’s 80% moisture when fresh), and then burned. A special shovel called a sleán is used when cutting by hand, but tractors and other industrial machinery can do the job faster. That said by the 1970s most people in Ireland were running their homes with coal, electric, or oil heating, no longer relying on turf.

It’s during the cutting of the turf, digging out sections of peat, that people occasionally find human bodies.

Bog bodies

Bog bodies are naturally mummified human remains found in peatlands. Because of the ground conditions the bodies are remarkably well preserved (considering their age). Tollund Man, who was found in Denmark in 1950, looks as if he is sleeping he is so well preserved (despite having died around 405–384 BCE).

Ireland has numerous bog bodies, most of whom are men having died between the Bronze Age to the Iron Age. Some examples include:

Cashel Man, died circa 2000 BCE Early Bronze Age, found in 2011
Gallagh Man, 400-200 BCE Early Iron Age, found in 1821
Clonycavan Man, 392-201 BCE Early Iron Age, found in 2003
Old Croughan Man, 362-175 BCE Early Iron Age, found in 2003
Ballymacombs More Woman, 343-1 BCE Early Iron Age, found in 2023
Baronstown West Man, 200-400 CE Early Iron Age, found in 1953

Many Irish bog bodies share another characteristic – they suffered violent deaths. Old Croghan Man was stabbed in the chest and later decapitated as well as cut in half. Clonycavan Man’s skull was split open and then disembowelled. The consistent pattern of violence & mutilation leads researchers to believe that these people were ritualistically killed as human sacrifices.

Celtic bog bodies discovered in the peatlands of Ireland — Celtic bog bodies, and some objects, discovered in the peatlands of Ireland.

Looking for clues

The ancient Celts did not keep written records so it is uncertain exactly why these bodies were placed out in the peatlands, or why they died as they did, but there are clues. From the 2nd century BCE onward cremation was the standard burial practice, so non-cremated remains of people who met violent ends is unusual and purposeful.

The next clue is where these bodies were placed. The distribution of bodies is frequently at the boundaries of territorial lands. Some of these bodies were deposited alongside objects of ritual significance (weapons, jewelry, clothing, feasting equipment, horse harnesses, food, etc).

Human sacrifice & Kingship

When an ancient Celtic man became king he was thought to symbolically marry the earth goddess, the goddess who looked after the fertility of the land. If the king was good then the land & people would flourish. Conversely if the king was bad this would also be reflected in the land & people. Famine, storms, war, poor harvests, etc. could all be signs that the king was an unjust ruler and perhaps in need of replacement.

It’s possible some of these Irish bog men were kings or perhaps rejected candidates for kingship. Several of them show no signs of manual labor (for example Old Croghan Man had manicured nails) and most were well fed. An additional clue as to their potential kingship is that several had their nipples mutilated.

In ancient Celtic society you would plead fealty to the king by sucking his nipples – Saint Patrick has a story involving this practice, as he gained passage on a boat. To remove or damage a man’s nipples would deny him kingship. Old Croghan Man was found with deep cuts under each nipple while Clonycavan Man was found with no nipples at all. Its possible decomposition played a role in both, but ritualistic mutilation is a leading theory.

Kings in the Bogs

Male Irish bog bodies seem to be kings who fortune turned against and were ritualistically sacrificed to appease a higher power. In killing a king the people hoped the goddess would be happier with the new king and improve their living conditions. As this practice seems to have gone on sporadically across thousands of years it’s unknown just how many bodies may still be hidden away in the peatlands.

Added info: Ireland has largely turned away from peat as a fuel source. Burning peat is not sustainable as it was being consumed faster than it could replenish itself. Further, the burning of peat releases the very carbon it was beneficially holding onto, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. In 2021 the government owned company Bord na Móna ceased peat harvesting and in 2022 the selling of peat as fuel was largely outlawed.

Besides holding carbon and ritualistic burials, peatlands also hold bog butter. For thousands of years people would bury wooden containers of butter or cheese in the peatlands. Whether to hide it from thieves, age it in the ground, or to keep it fresh, peatlands act as (essentially) natural refrigerators.

Peatland and the cutting of the turf.

Some science explaining peatlands.

QI discusses Richard Harris as well as the nipples of Celtic Kings.

the Guinness Widget

The plastic device that, when the can is opened and the pressure drops, helps your canned Guinness taste more like draft Guinness.

Inside a can of Guinness is a plastic object, a “widget”. It’s more noticeable after the can is empty and it rattles around. The “smoothifier”, as called by Guinness, is a ping pong sized plastic ball added to cans to better replicate a beer poured from the tap in a bar.

During the canning process an empty widget is placed inside the can, followed by Guinness beer, and a small amount of liquid nitrogen. Contrary to some sources, the widget is not filled with nitrogen. Rather, because of two small holes it becomes filled with a mix of beer & nitrogen just like the rest of the can. Once the can is sealed the can and the widget are now under greater pressure than the environment outside the can.

When you crack open a Guinness the pressure drops. To balance the pressure the nitrogen rushes to escape the can and the widget. In so doing the widget spins like an agitator, mixing the beer & nitrogen, and as you pour the can into a glass it creates a creamy head of foam like that which you get from a Guinness poured in a bar.

the Guinness Widget — The Guinness widget is a hollow plastic ball ball that spins when the can is open, mixing nitrogen and beer, helping canned Guinness taste more like Guinness from the tap.

Why Nitrogen?

Most beers have carbon dioxide added to enhance the flavor, aroma, and to create a bubbly fizzy texture. Nitrogen however creates smaller bubbles which is what gives Guinness a creamier/silkier feel. While Guinness was the first brewery to use nitrogen they are no longer the only one. Today other brands also add nitrogen as well as use their own styles of widgets.

Nitrogen (mixed with a small amount of carbon dioxide) was introduced to Guinness in 1959 by mathematician and brewer Michael Ash. This nitrogen mix creates the “surge and settle” effect you see when properly pouring a Guinness. Ash wanted to create a way for bartenders of any skill level to properly pour a pint of Guinness. Adding nitrogen was an important part of his “Easy Serve System” – a two-part pouring system we still see today. He also co-designed a two-part keg that contained both the beer and the nitrogen mix, nicknamed the “Ash Can”.

In 2021, as part of never ending nitrogen nitpicking, Guinness introduced the Nitrosurge. A USB charged device the Nitrosurge is a portable tap you attach to the top of special Nitrosurge cans of Guinness that helps you get even closer to replicating a pint from a bar.

Added info: there used to be a “rocket” widget in bottled Guinness, but it was removed after bottled Guinness was reformulated to be drunk directly from the bottle (eliminating the need to create the iconic creamy head of beer).

See the widget in action, spinning & mixing Guinness.

SYSK discusses the history of the Guinness widget.

All about nitrogen in beer.

Cú Chulainn: Irish Warrior

The mythic Irish figure who lived fast, died young, and could warp into a Hulk-like warrior monster.

Cú Chulainn is a legendary figure in Irish mythology. While there are numerous variations of his name (Cuchulain, Cuchullin, Cuchulinn, etc.) there are even more variations of his life story. Cú Chulainn (‘Koo KUL-in’) was said to have lived somewhere between the 1st century BCE to 1st century CE in the kingdom of Ulster in the north of Ireland. His tale was a part of the oral storytelling tradition, changing and growing over the years, so by the 7th century when it was recorded by Sechan Torpeist, there were numerous versions.

Differences in his story aside, the basics are that Cú Chulainn was born to a mortal woman, Deichtine, sister to Conchobar mac Nessa the king of Ulster, while his father was the god Lugh (whom the County of Louth is named after). This makes Cú Chulainn a demigod and like other demigods in folklore he had superhuman abilities & looks. He was said to have hair that was three different colors, he had four colored dimples in each cheek, as well as seven pupils per eye, seven fingers per hand, seven toes per foot. In spite of these unusual features (or perhaps because of them) he was considered exceptionally handsome.

As a child, in an early display of his warrior abilities, a wolfhound ran to attack Cú Chulainn but in self-defense he used his hurley to hit a ball down the dog’s throat, eventually killing the dog with his hands. Feeling bad for killing Culann the metalsmith’s dog he offered to take the dog’s place in guarding Culann’s property. This is how Sédana (to add yet another name to his story) became Cú Chulainn. “Cú” means hound and “Chulainn” was the name of the metalsmith – so “Culann’s hound”. In a way Cú Chulainn was named after the dog, like Indiana Jones.

At the age of seven Cú Chulainn heard the druid Cathbad discussing a prophecy that any warrior who took up arms that day would have everlasting fame. Desiring fame & glory Cú Chulainn went to his uncle the King to request a weapon. Unfortunately Cú Chulainn failed to hear the second part of the prophecy which stated that this famous warrior would also have a very short life.

The short, but action-packed, life of Cú Chulainn took him on numerous adventures.

Unleash the beast

Like other demigod warriors, Cú Chulainn had an unmatched prowess in battle. Part of his secret to success was his ability to go into a ríastrad or “battle frenzy/spasm” where he would physically transform like Dr. Jekyll into Mr. Hyde or Bruce Banner into the Hulk, but with more of an H.P. Lovecraft feeling.

Driven by rage his body would contort so his feet and shins turned backwards, his one eye would recede into his head while the other would dangle out, his hair became like spikes, his lungs and liver were somehow visible in his mouth, all while his forehead leaked blood. He became a monstrous killing machine, indiscriminately slaughtering anyone (including allies) who crossed his path. Once the fighting was over he would return to his beautiful, beardless, youthful human form.

Warrior Legend

Cú Chulainn’s superhuman speed, agility, his monstrous ríastrad form, and his good looks led him to many adventures. He trained with Scáthach on the Isle of Skye in Scotland, he got recruited into fighting demons in Tír nAill (the magical “Otherworld”), he accidentally killed his own son, many women (human and magical) fell in love with him, he defended Ulster by single-handedly holding back the army of queen Medb in the Cattle Raid of Cooley, won contests, bested his foes, etc.

Despite his extraordinary abilities Cú Chulainn couldn’t escape that he was cursed to die young. Having slain so many men he understandably made a lot of enemies including the shape-shifting goddess The Morrígan (the magical “phantom queen” who may be three sisters or just one woman in multiple forms). Eventually he was brought down by his various enemies conspiring against him. Towards the end of his final battle Cú Chulainn tied himself to a standing stone (with rope or with his entrails) so he could die on his feet. After the final blow was dealt the surrounding army was afraid to approach him, unsure if he was really dead. A raven (The Morrigan in Badb bird form) landed on his shoulder proving that Cú Chulainn the legendary warrior had died – at 27 years old.

Symbol of Nationalism

The story of Cú Chulainn, the heroic Irish warrior, has served as inspiration over the centuries. In the early 20th century there was renewed interest in Cú Chulainn as part of the Celtic Revival where he became a part of the Irish nationalism movement. That he would tie himself to stay upright and continue the fight against a seemingly intractable enemy became symbolic of the republican movement for national independence and the fight against England. In 1935 Éamon de Valera chose the Oliver Sheppard statue The Death of Cuchulainn for the national memorial to the 1916 Rising. Today the statue can be seen inside the General Post Office, O’Connell Street, in Dublin.

Beyond the Pale

The expression about unacceptable behavior that’s based in Irish history.

Around 16,000 BCE the melting ice from the Ice Age raised sea levels and separated Ireland from Britain. Then around 6,000 BCE Britain became separated from mainland Europe. Since around 8,000 BCE the island of Ireland has been steadily inhabited but whether these early settlers arrived on a disappearing land bridge or by boats is unknown. The Celts came much later (exactly when is debated) but somewhere starting around 500 BCE.

The long conflict between the Irish and English stems from the 1169 CE Norman invasion of Ireland. An 1155 papal decree by Pope Adrian IV (who, what a coincidence, was English himself) granted King Henry II of England the right to invade & govern Ireland. This was the start of the next several hundred years of brutal English colonization of Ireland.

Us From Them

The Lordship of Ireland began in 1177 but, in the beginning, England really only ruled over parts of Ireland. Some of the Lords who had been given land assimilated to the local Irish culture, the crown gained land and lost land, and gradually the area under English control shrank. By the 14th century only a region around Dublin was still under English control. To clearly mark the King’s territory, to separate “us from them”, a wooden fence was constructed along portions of the border. This border was the pale, from the Latin “palus” for a stake or fence. So, the native Irish living free outside of the control of the English crown were “beyond the pale.”

To try and control their subjects the English put in place various laws to prevent Irish influence. Marriage between English settlers and the Irish was forbidden, as was speaking Irish Gaelic, dressing like the Irish, or even cutting your hair like an Irish person. These activities were deemed unacceptable behavior and were “beyond the pale.”

Today the idiom “beyond the pale” continues to mean things that are offensive or unacceptable, just like what the English thought centuries ago.

Added info: the oldest structures in Ireland, sometimes thought of as Celtic, existed long before the Celts arrived in Ireland. Newgrange, the 5,200 year old passage tomb just North of Dublin, was created 2,500 years before the Celts arrival (it was also created before the pyramids of Giza).

the Shamrock Shake & Uncle O’Grimacey

The McDonalds Shamrock Shake helped pay for the first Ronald McDonald house.

In 1970 McDonalds introduced their lemon/lime flavored green Saint Patrick’s Day Shake. It eventually changed flavors and names to become the mint flavored, and alliteratively titled, Shamrock Shake. Like the autumnal artificial scarcity of pumpkin spice, the Shamrock Shake is only available around Saint Patrick’s Day in the February through March timeframe (except in Philadelphia where it has two seasons).

McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc, Mayor Frank Rizzo, members of the Eagles organization, Fred Hill & his daughter all attended the opening of the first Ronald McDonald House, October 15, 1974.

Philadelphia’s two seasons of Shamrock Shakes goes back to the role it played in creating the first ever Ronald McDonald House. In 1969 Kim Hill, daughter of Philadelphia Eagle Fred Hill, was diagnosed with leukemia. By 1973 the Hills and members of the Eagles organization started the Eagles Fly for Leukemia charity which helped pay for the new oncology wing at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).

After seeing parents camped out in the hallways and waiting rooms while their children received treatments, the charity went a step further in 1974 and purchased an old seven-bedroom house at 4032 Spruce Street not far from the hospital. The house would be a place for visiting families to stay free of charge while their children received treatment – a “home away from home”. To help pay for this the Eagles partnered with the local McDonalds restaurants asking them to donate money from their next promotional food item, which just happened to be the Shamrock Shake. The Eagles asked them to donate 25 cents per shake but McDonalds executives asked if they could have the naming rights to the house if they donated all of the proceeds. Eagles general manager Jimmy Murray said “… for that money, they could name it the Hamburglar House.” From this, the first ever Ronald McDonald House was established in Philadelphia in 1974. Today there are more than 375 Ronald McDonald House programs around the world which, at what would have been more than 2.5 million overnight stays in hotels, save families around $930 million each year.

Uncle O’Grimacey

As positive as the Shamrock Shake’s impact has been, there have been some missteps. To help promote the Shamrock Shake, McDonalds introduced the new mascot character Uncle O’Grimacey in 1975. The Irish uncle of the purple mascot Grimace, Uncle O’Grimacey (complete in his kelly green hat, shamrock-patterned vest, and shillelagh) would travel from Ireland each year bringing Shamrock Shakes to McDonaldland. Uncle O’Grimacey was quietly phased out of McDonalds marketing after a few years due in part to an alleged incident in Philadelphia in 1978 where the person portraying him made statements in support of the IRA and that British soldiers were better dead than alive.

Casual racism isn’t just relegated to the semi-distant past however. In 2017 McDonalds ran an ad promoting the Shamrock Shake. Unfortunately they had a man wearing a tartan Tam o’ shanter playing the shake like a set of bagpipes (which would be Scottish) while standing in-front of Stonehenge (which is in England). McDonalds stopped the ad and apologized saying they are “… strongly supportive of Ireland and respectful of its culture”. Begosh and Begorrah.

Uncle O’Grimacey bringing Shamrock Shakes to McDonaldland.