The Harp Instrument

The Guinness harp device is based on the 14 th century Irish harp based in Trinity College known as

the O’Neill’s Harp which was registered as a Guinness trade mark in 1876.

A number of changes have taken place over the years including in the reduction of the number of

strings used in the harp in. A simplified version was introduced in 1968, 1997 and in 2005 the harp

was put on a diet and slimed down once again when the brand identity was redesigned. In later

years the harp was coloured in gold but initially the harp was black.