<P> However , reference to the harp as the arms of the king of Ireland can be found in one of the oldest medieval rolls of arms . The Wijnbergen Roll , a French roll of arms dating from c. 1280 and preserved in The Hague , Netherlands , attributed `` D'azure a la harpe d'or '' ( English : Blue with a harp of gold ) to the King of Ireland ( `` le Roi d'Irlande '' ) . The harp , traditionally associated with King David , was a rare charge on medieval rolls and only two arms with a harp are listed in a collection of 19 early rolls . Triangular devices appeared on medieval Irish coinage by kings John and Edward I in the 12th and 13th centuries . These devices may have been crude harps or it may be that the harp developed from the use of triangles to distinguish Irish coins . The idea of a harp being the arms of Ireland may have originated as a reference to a fictional character , le roi d'irelande , in the courtly legend cycle of Tristan . Alternatively , it may have derived from a celebrated 13th century bardic poem , Tabhroidh Chugam Cruit mo Riogh , dedicated to the Donnchadh Cairbreach O'Briain ( d . 1242 ) , a Gaelic King of Thomond . </P>
what is the meaning of the harp in ireland
the arms of Ireland