Flag of Ireland

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The National Flag of Ireland (Irish: An Bhratach Náisiúnta), also known as the Irish tricolour, is the national flag of the Republic of Ireland. The flag was first adopted as the national flag of the Irish Free State in 1922. When the Free State was succeeded by the state called Ireland (Éire in Irish), or since described as the Republic of Ireland, the tricolour was given constitutional status under the 1937 Constitution of Ireland.

The tricolour is regarded by many nationalists as the national flag of the whole of Ireland. Thus it is flown (often controversially) by many nationalists in Northern Ireland as well as by the Gaelic Athletic Association. Historically Ireland has been represented by a number of other flags, including Saint Patrick's cross, and the "four provinces" flag.

The flag's colours are turned the other way round in the shorter flag of Côte d'Ivoire.

Contents 1 The tricolour 1.1 Use in Northern Ireland 2 Other flags representing Ireland 3 See also 4 Footnotes

[edit] The tricolour

Irish Flags
Current Flags
Flag of Ireland since 1919 / 1922
The Union Jack, flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (1801-Present). Current flag for Northern Ireland.
Current Presidential and Royal Standards
18th century unofficial Irish flag, now the standard of the President of Ireland.
The British Royal Standard shows an ancient Irish flag in its lower left quadrant. Used by the Queen in Northern Ireland
Flag of International Association
The flag of the European Union
Historical Flags
The combined flags of the four Provinces of Ireland. This flag is used by the World Curling Federation and the Irish Rugby Football Union to represent the whole island.
Flag of the former Government of Northern Ireland (1920-1972)
Flag used by Irish Volunteers and Irish Citizen Army during the 1916 Easter Rising.
The Standard of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1801 until 1922), sometimes used as the official Irish flag under British rule.
Saint Patrick's cross was used from 1783 to 1922 to symbolise Ireland officially.
19th century unofficial Irish flag, also the flag of Leinster.

The tricolour, with its three equal vertical bands (pales) of green (hoist side), white and orange was first flown from the Wolfe Tone Club, on The Mall in Waterford City, on 7 March 1848 by Thomas Francis Meagher. Apart from the constitutional status of the flag there are no additional statutory provisions on the flags construction but the colors of the flag, under the Pantone Matching System, are green (Pantone 347), white and orange (Pantone 151)^[1]. It was first used by Irish nationalists in 1848 during the Young Irelanders' rebellion, though the colours on the original flag were in reverse order to the modern version. Inspired by the French tricolour and the Newfoundland Tricolour (Meagher's father was born in Newfoundland) it was designed to represent the Nationalist (mainly Roman Catholic) majority (represented by green) and the Unionist (mainly Protestant) minority (represented by orange due to William of Orange) living together in peace (symbolised by the white band).

In numerous songs and poems, the colours are enumerated as "green, white and gold"^[2]. Flags based on this will have a yellow stripe rather than an orange one. This is actively discouraged by the state^[1]. Having "gold" in place of "orange" may variously be interpreted as simple poetic license, a throwback to the green and gold flag of nineteenth century nationalism, or a desire to downplay the symbolism of "green" Ireland being in harmony with Orangeism^[3].

Contrary to myth, the tricolour was not the actual flag of the Easter Rising, although it had been flown from the GPO; that flag was in fact a green flag with a harp and the words "Irish Republic". However the tricolour became the de facto flag of the extra-legal Irish Republic declared in 1919 and was later adopted by the Irish Free State.

The 1922 Free State constitution did not provide for national symbols. The modern Constitution of Ireland provides in Article 7 that the "national flag is the tricolour of green, white and orange". Today the European flag is flown alongside the national flag on all official buildings, and in most places where the Irish flag is flown over buildings. The National Flag is flown over the following buildings:

• Áras an Uachtaráin (the residence of the President of Ireland, see Presidential Standard)
• Leinster House (the seat of the Irish parliament), when parliament is in session.
• Irish courts and state buildings.
• Irish military installations, at home and abroad and Garda (police) stations.

The tricolour is also draped across the coffins of:

• Presidents and ex-presidents of Ireland.
• Soldiers and Garda (police) personnel killed in the line of duty
• Other notables accorded state funerals, such as Roger Casement in 1965, or Kevin Barry in 2001.

[edit] Use in Northern Ireland

The purported symbolism of the flag (peace between Catholics and Protestants) has not become a universal reality. In 1920, Ireland was partitioned, with the unionist-dominated northeast becoming Northern Ireland, while later, in 1922, the remainder of Ireland left the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to form the Irish Free State.

Northern Ireland continued to use the British Union Flag and created its own derivation of the flag of Ulster (with a crown on top of a six pointed star) to symbolise the state. Furthermore, for many years the tricolour was effectively banned in Northern Ireland under the Flags and Emblems (Display) Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 which empowered the police to remove any flag that could cause a breach of the peace but specified that a Union Jack could never have such an effect. In 1964, the enforcement of this law by the RUC at the behest of Ian Paisley, involving the removal of a single tricolour from the offices of Sinn Féin in Belfast, led to two days of rioting. The tricolour was immediately replaced, highlighting the difficulty of enforcing the law.

Despite its original symbolism, in Northern Ireland the tricolour, along with most other markers of either British or Irish identity, has come to be a symbol of division. The Ulster Unionist Party Government of Northern Ireland adopted the Flag of Northern Ireland (based on the flag of Ulster) in 1953. Thus it is this flag and the Union Jack that are flown by unionists, while the tricolour is often used to represent nationalist defiance.

In Northern Ireland, each community uses its own flags, murals and other symbols to declare its allegiance and mark its territory, often in a manner that is deliberately provocative. Kerb-stones in unionist and loyalist areas are often painted red, white and blue, while in nationalist and republican areas kerb-stones may be painted green, white and orange. Elements of both communities fly "their" flag from chimneys and tall buildings.

Many Irish people argue that the symbolism of the tricolour has been undermined by its use by radical republicans, such as members and supporters of Sinn Féin and the Provisional IRA. Most controversially, the IRA drape the flag over the coffins of dead members.

Nationalists from the Republic of Ireland have complained of the tricolour's use by Sinn Féin supporters at election counts in the 2002 general election to triumphantly celebrate its electoral victories. This caused considerable comment and criticism in the Irish print and broadcast media, the party and its members being accused of showing "gross disrespect" to the national flag.

Under the 1998 Belfast Agreement, flags continue to be a source of disagreement in Northern Ireland. The Agreement states that:

All participants acknowledge the sensitivity of the use of symbols and emblems for public purposes, and the need in particular in creating the new institutions to ensure that such symbols and emblems are used in a manner which promotes mutual respect rather than division.

Nationalists have pointed to this to argue that the use of the Union Flag for official purposes should be restricted, or that the tricolour should be flown alongside the British flag on government buildings. Unionists argue that the recognition of the "principle of consent" (i.e. that Northern Ireland's constitutional status cannot change without a majority favouring it) by the signatories amounts to recognising that the Union Flag is the only legitimate official flag in Northern Ireland.

Nonetheless some level of compromise has been achieved. The British flag is no longer flown over Parliament Buildings and state offices except on a limited number of 'named days' (honouring, for example Queen Elizabeth II's official birthday). Major exceptions to this rule are the City Hall in Belfast (where the Union Flag is allowed to fly year-round), and the local district councils, for instance Lisburn council, which can choose to fly the Union Flag every day of the year or not at all (for instance Down District Council). A Sinn Féin Lord Mayor of Belfast (Alex Maskey) displayed both flags in his own offices, and this caused much controversy.

The fate of the Irish tricolor, designed to represent a compromise between two warring sides but ending up as representing one of them, parallels what happened to the French tricolour which it emulated - which in the early stages of the French Revolution was designed as a compromise between Republicans and Royalists (the Red and Blue represnting the former and the White - the latter) but ended up as the quintessential republican flag from which later republics drew their inspiration.

See also: Northern Ireland flags issue

[edit] Other flags representing Ireland

• Saint Patrick's Flag: First used officially in 1783, this flag was incorporated into the Union Jack on the Act of Union 1800 1801 to represent Ireland within the new United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Those who regard the tricolour as specific to the Republic of Ireland, or excluding of Unionists, may advocate it as a neutral symbol of the whole island; others may regard it as an unauthentic British symbol.
• The Four Provinces: The four provinces flag is divided into four parts, each of which is the flag of one of the four provinces of Ireland. The four quadrants represent the provinces of Ulster (top left), Munster (top right), Connacht (bottom left) and Leinster (bottom right). It is often flown in support of the Irish rugby team.
• The Green Flag: The green flag was a common flag used to represent Ireland during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It consisted of a harp on a green background. It is identical to the flag of Leinster.

[edit] See also

• List of Irish flags

[edit] Footnotes

1. ^ ^{a b} The National Flag, The Protocol Section, Department of the Taoiseach, Dublin
2. ^ Example "Long Journey Home", with lyrics by Elvis Costello
3. ^ See the lyrics and commentary on two Irish rebel songs: "Green White and Gold" and "The Dying Rebel"

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