Sir, – I enjoyed Mary Louise O’Donnell’s article (Arts Ideas, January 16th) concerning the retuning of the harp logo used by State bodies. However, it should be clarified that the harp design for the Great Seal of the Irish Free State was the work of Archibald McGoogan and not Percy Metcalfe. The Great Seal was created in 1923 while Metcalfe’s final designs for the Irish coinage only appeared in 1928. The similarity between the two is a consequence of both artists using the same model, the Trinity College harp.
Sorry to harp on about this, but credit where credit is due! – Yours, etc,