Flag of Ireland

The Irish flag is a vertical tricolour, typically referred to as “the Irish tricolour”. The flag has a ratio of 1:2 in its dimensions. Ireland’s establishment as a sovereign state is relatively recent. After an abortive insurrection in the early 1700s, the “Flight of the Earls” occurred, when Ireland virtually became an English colony. In 1801 this was officially admitted to the United Kingdom. Ireland has since become more intertwined with western Europe. In 1973, it was a full-fledged part of the popular European Economic Community. Till now, Ireland used to have a plethora of flags, both formal and informal. This article goes through the many flags of Ireland, their histories, & their symbolism.

Irish Flag 

The flag of Ireland is a tricolour flag, including vertical stripes dividing it into colours orange, white and green and having a proportion of 1:2. As Ireland officially announced a republic in 1949, the modern nation was established. The flag was influenced by the French Tricolore used by 19th-century patriots who battled for freedom. 

The colours are comparable to those found on the flag of Côte d’Ivoire but in reverse chronological order. It is also comparable to the Italian flag; however, instead of that red, it has orange. However, the tricolour was not the official flag till 1916 after Gearóid O’Sullivan unfurled it directly over Dublin’s General Post Office during the Easter Rising. 

History

One of the first flags of Ireland, dating from the end of the 1500s, was a blue one with a gold harp; now, it is Ireland’s presidential standard. The Cross of St. Patrick, eventually incorporated further into the British National Flag, was frequently used in the seventeenth century.

Although the country had been under English administration, a green coloured flag with a golden harp, assigned to the region of Leinster, began to be accepted as the emblem of Ireland in the mid-1700s. 

Numerous tricolour banners & ribbons were symbols of Irish nationalism in the nineteenth century. Most of them use the colours emerald for Roman Catholics, orange for Protestants of the nation, and white as a symbol of peace among everyone.  

The first recorded vertically tri banner of orange, white, and green dates from March 1848 but was not widely adopted until 1917. On December 29, 1937, the government acknowledged the tricolour in its contemporary form, but it was not changed whenever the Republic of Ireland left the British Commonwealth. The final strip is frequently misidentified as yellow or golden instead of orange.

Irish Flag Meaning

On the current flag of Ireland, green symbolises Roman Catholics, while the orange signifies the minority Protestants who supported William of Orange. The white in the middle represents a long-term calm and desire for Irish Protestants and Catholics to unite. 

The banner itself is meant to represent the participation and held out hope confederation of individuals of diverse cultures on the entire island, as conveyed in the founding document as every person who was born in Ireland and had the desire to be a part of the neutral Irish country, regardless of cultural origin, religious doctrine, or political beliefs.

The colours are occasionally mentioned as “green, white, and gold” in folk songs and literature by artistic licence. The Department of the Taoiseach makes recommendations on the usage of the flag, in the absence of specific regulations.

Conclusion

Since there are no formal restrictions, it is up to every individual to follow the recommendations from the Department of the Taoiseach. On the other hand, the current flag requires it to be handled with respect and care. The department will be responsible for the national flag administrative functions, which largely involve the flag’s hanging procedure. Whenever the flag is held alongside another flag, it should be held in a prominent place on the marching right or on the left of the observer who holds the banner there.