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The Rose Mooney or Carolan Harp

As well as new working copies or reconstructions, the design of NMI DF:1945-122 has also been used as a model for artists wanting to depict Carolan. Perhaps the most interesting is the sculpture of Carolan, by Oisin Kelly (1915-81), unveiled by President Hillery in Mohill, county Leitrim in 1986:

sculpture of Carolan in Mohill

A similar sculpture by Ann Meldon Hugh, also showing a copy of the NMI Carolan harp, was unveiled in Nobber, county Meath, in 2003.


As far as I know, the first harpmaker to produce copies of the NMI Carolan harp was Natalie Surina, who made two for the Historical Harp Society of Ireland. I had one of them on loan for a while, and then commissioned a new reconstruction copy of the NMI Carolan harp (NMI DF:1945-122) from Pedro Ferreira.

Simon Chadwick