The English occupational surname Harper/Harpur; harpmaker or harp player, is listed 280 times in the Phone Book of Northern Ireland and 106 times south of the Border, mainly in Leinster, but also in the 07 area.
The surname Piper, "piper, player on the pipe/fife", has five entries in the Phone Book and 19 south of the Border, strongest in the 07 area, and the single entry of the English occupational surname Fiddler south of the Border is in Co Meath, and that north of the Border (Fidler) in Co Down. None of these names has been Gaelicised. Timpany, Mac an Tiompanaigh (tiompan, drum) has but three entries, those being in counties Antrim, Armagh and Down.
Baird is another occupational surname associated with music, being the Scottish version of bard, "singer, minstrel", from the Gaelic bard. This was the early public relations man, his duties being to compose and sing verses celebrating the achievements of his chief, accompanying himself on the harp. This gave rise to the surname Mac an Bhaird, "son of the bard", the name of hereditary bards attached to the O'Donnells in Co Donegal, and the O'Kellys in Co Galway.
Mac an Bhaird was anglicised MacAward, MacWard, and then Ward. The English surname Ward is also occupational, being "guard, watchman", or possibly from a local name indicating "guardhouse, prison". But did Thrusteym de la Warde, listed in a hearing in Dublin in 1308 concerning the theft of a horse, bear a different surname again? Was this, like Ardagh, Athy, Bray, etc., formed from a place name? Ward names a parish in Co Dublin. In 1311 Thur . . . Warde (?the same) was a member of the jury in a hearing in Dublin, and Robert Warde and another were found guilty at Carlow of aiding in the theft of "a belt, a knife, a purse, 4s 3d of silver, a lance, an axe, and two caps and wounding almost unto death . . ." Robert Warde, who had accompanied Godfrey Folejaumbe to England in 1346, was most probably English.
This trip was "to further and expedite urgent business concerning the lands of Ireland". Robert Ward, constable of Carlow, 1347-49, and Walter Warde, king's sergeant at arms, were also likely to have been English. The latter advised on payments to various masters and sailors of the 11 empty ships from Ireland to Portsmouth in 1437.
Maelisa MacAward was bishop of his native see, Clonfert, 1171-73, and the sons of Mac an Bhaird were clearly handy with weapons as well as the harp, as in 1356 they assisted Donough Carragh O'Kelly in slaying Hugh O'Connor, king of Connaught at Baile Locha Deachair (Balloughdacker in the Co Galway parish of Athleague). Matthew Warde was the Dean of Kilmacduagh in 1500.
The Irish Fiants of the Tudor Sovereigns (1308-14) list both Ward, and Mac an Bhaird, variously Anglicised. Pardoned persons were M'Award of Clonebrock, Teig and Brian M'Awarde, kerns, of Cloneboll (1585), Shane reogh M'Award, Ratharowe (1590); persons so named in counties Leitrim, Meath and Monaghan (1591), and in 1603 the following MacAwards - Owen Roe, William oge, Ennys oge, and Connor roe, listed "among the natural followers of Rory O Donnell" in Teerconnel. Wards listed herein were Bernard, late of Oxmanstown (1565); John, gent, one of the captains of the wars; and Nicholas granted the office of clerk, comptroller of surveyor general of the ordnance (1599), and William and Thomas (?Kildare) in 1600.
A Census of Ireland (1659) shows Ward among the principal Irish names in three baronies each in counties Donegal and Westmeath; in counties Armagh, Monaghan, Kildare, and Meath. Gory McAward, gent, Corr, Letter McAward, was the sole bearer of that name to feature as a titulado. Wards featured as tituladoes - in Galbally (Co Limerick); Derryluskan (Co Tipperary); Cloghna (Co Carlow); Drogheda (Co Louth); Newstreet, St Bride's and Cornmarket in Dublin city, and in Ballynedan, Ardquin, and Castleward, Ballyculter - all in Co Down. Persons so named were Commissioners for the Poll-Money Ordnance of 1660 and 1661 for counties Down and Carlow. Castleward was the residence of Edward Southwell Ward, Baron Bangor, when he was created Viscount Bangor in 1781. Arthur Young in his A Tour of Ireland 1776-1779 says that in 1776 he called to Lord Bangor's at Castle Ward.
Owners of Land of One Acre and Upwards (1876) lists Ward holdings in counties Carlow, Dublin, Kilkenny, Longford, Meath, Wexford, Galway, Mayo, Derry, Tyrone and Down. Robert E. Ward, Bangor Castle, Bangor, Co Down, had 5,735 acres, and Viscount Bangor, Castleward, Strangford, had 9,861 acres.
Lettermacaward, the Anglicised form of Litir Mac an Bhaird, "the hill of Mac an Bhaird", names a Co Donegal parish.