''Harp Lager'' is an Irish

lager Lager () is beer which has been brewed and conditioned at low temperature. Lagers can be pale, amber, or dark. Pale lager is the most widely consumed and commercially available style of beer. The term "lager" comes from the German for "storage" ...

created in 1959. Formerly produced at the

Great Northern Brewery The Great Northern Brewery, on the Carrick Road, Dundalk, County Louth, was an Irish brewery. It was home to Harp Lager, and was formerly owned by Diageo. In 2015 the brewery closed, and production of Harp Lager and other products was moved to ...

in Dundalk, it is now brewed in Dublin. It is a major lager brand throughout most of Northern Ireland, but is now rarely available in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

History

''Harp Lager'' was first produced in 1960 as a bottled beer by the Guinness company (now

Diageo Diageo plc () is a Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic beverage company, with its headquarters in London, England. It operates from 132 sites around the world. It was the world's largest distiller before being overtaken by Kweich ...

), in response to the trend among drinkers in Ireland and Britain towards

Continental Continental may refer to: Places * Continent, the major landmasses of Earth * Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US * Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US Arts and entertainment * ''Continental'' ( ...

lager. Guinness converted its Dundalk brewery into a modern lager production plant with the guidance of Dr. Herman Muender, a distinguished German brewer. Various names were considered for the brand, including ''Atlas'', ''Cresta'' and ''Dolphin'', before ''Harp'' was chosen. The brand was marketed with the Brian Boru harp as its emblem. By 1961 a

consortium A consortium (plural: consortia) is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations or governments (or any combination of these entities) with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for ...

of brewers, Courage, Barclay & Simonds,

Scottish & Newcastle Scottish & Newcastle plc was a brewing company headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland, which expanded from its home base to become an international business with beer volumes growing almost tenfold. The company was listed on the London Stock Exc ...

, Bass, Mitchells & Butlers and Guinness, grouped together as Harp Lager Ltd to brew and market the beer. Courage's Alton Brewery, where ''Courage Director's'' had been brewed, was rebuilt to produce the lager in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

. By 1964, the product was being sold on draught and led in its category for sales. Members of the Harp consortium changed over the years, with Courage and Scottish & Newcastle leaving in 1979, but becoming franchisees."Dundalk grows and develop
archive link September 2006 (Wayback Machine)
Diageo Currently available on draught, and in 330ml and 500ml bottles, its top market is

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

, especially

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

and

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconne ...

. In 2005, Harp saw a makeover as Diageo Ireland separated the brand from Guinness. On 9 May 2008, Diageo Ireland announced that it would close the Dundalk Brewery along with the Kilkenny Brewery over a five-year period. The last Harp was brewed at Great Northern in October 2013, after which production moved to Diageo's sole Irish brewery,

St James's Gate Brewery St. James's Gate Brewery is a brewery founded in 1759 in Dublin, Ireland, by Arthur Guinness. The company is now a part of Diageo, a company formed from the merger of Guinness and Grand Metropolitan in 1997. The main product of the brewery is ...

in St. James's Gate,

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

. Today, ''Harp'' is brewed in the Dublin brewery for Ireland and

Hydes Brewery Hydes is a family-owned and managed brewery in Salford, England. The company has been brewing cask ales since 1863. It owns more than 50 managed and tenanted pubs, mainly in North West England. History Alfred and Ralph Hyde inherited a small ...

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

for Great Britain. In Australia, distribution is handled by

Carlton & United Breweries Carlton & United Breweries (CUB) is an Australian brewing company based in Melbourne and owned by Japanese conglomerate Asahi Breweries. Its notable brands include Victoria Bitter, Carlton Draught, Foster's Lager, Great Northern, Resch's, Pu ...

. In North America,

exports from the UK arrive in bottle and cask condition, labeled an "imported from Ireland" lager from St. James Gate, Dublin on its packaging.

Marketing

Advertising hoarding, Belfast - geograph

For many years the slogan "''Harp'' stays sharp" was used in advertisements. It was written by the advertising executive

Rod Allen Roderick Bernet Allen (born October 5, 1959) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and current game analyst for the Miami Marlins on Bally Sports Florida. He formerly worked as an analyst for the Detroit Tigers on Bally Sports ...

. Recently it has used the slogan "Look on the ''Harp'' side".

References

External links

DiageoThe Harp Club
{{Diageo plc Diageo beer brands Beer in Ireland Irish alcoholic drinks