Where did the colours in the Irish flag come from?

BossArky

I was pondering this on and off for the past while. Just found the following on

http://www.worldflags101.com/i/ireland-flag.aspx

Anyone else got an info?

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Irish Flag Description:
The flag of Ireland consists of three equal sized vertical stripes - the left stripe is green; the middle one is white; and the right stripe is orange.

Irish Flag Meaning:
The colors of the Irish flag have no official meaning but many legends have risen to account for the colors. One of them states that the Green stripe is represents Catholics, the Orange represents Protestants and the white stripe symbolizes the peace between them. Another one states the orange color is associated with the Protestants in Ulster and those that derived from William III who defeated the Irish Catholics at the Battle of the Boyne in the late 1600s. It was included in the Irish flag in an attempt to reconcile the Protestants with the Irish independence movement.

Irish Flag History:
The Irish flag was adopted on December 29, 1937. The first known use of the Irish tricolour, which is based on the French national flag, was by Irish nationalists shortly after the French Revolution in 1848. After the Easter Rising of 1916, which was a nationalist uprising against British rule, the Irish tricolor became widely regarded as the national flag. In 1922, Ireland was separated into two states by Britain. An independent Irish state, called the Irish Free State, adopted the Irish flag and Northern Ireland which consists of the mainly Protestant northeast part of the island elected to remain governed by Great Britain. The Irish flag remained unchanged when the Irish Republic was established on April18, 1949.

Interesting Irish Flag Facts:
There is a cocktail called the "Irish flag" which consists of 2 cc Mint spirit, 2 cc Irish cream and 2 cc Grand Marnier. The ingredients have to be poured in the above order and very gently down a long spoon so that the colored liquids won't mix together. The drink, when made, resembles the green, white and orange of the Irish flag.

gandalf

Moved from Politics

Múinteoir

I'm fairly sure the tricolour was the state flag from 1922, not 1937. Certainly Dev's new constitution re-endorsed it but it was there already.

RobertFoster

It says 1922 on Wikipedia. (more)

irlgov.ie says:

irlgov.ie wrote:

The National Flag is a tricolour of green, white and orange. The green represents the older Gaelic and Anglo-Norman element in the population, the orange the Protestant supporters of William of Orange, while the white represents a lasting peace between the two traditions. First flown as an emblem of the Young Ireland movement of 1848, the flag did not come into popular use until after the 1916 Rising.

Who to believe I wonder. I doubt it "has no official meaning" like the OP said.

Jackie laughlin

Anyone interested in a variation on the theme? Ever wonder about the frequency of green, white and yellow or "gold". Well in the 50s we could make Papal flags and Irish flags by buying just three cloth colours!

walrusgumble

absolutely not/ the flag ass green white and orange is fine the way it is. the white and gold-spot on is related to the vatican. we should have nothing to do with this, can hardly be said irish people are as hardcore catholics as the people were in the 1950-1980's. it does not represent today's ireland, paarticularily with what is going on in the church.

secondly whatever chance we have of a united ireland, the unionist,and quiet rightly so would run a mile if that was used.

Kojak

are you suggesting we change our national flag, walrusgumble, just so the unionists will be happy?? I don't think the colour of the flag (at the moment, anyways) has much to do with them not wanting a united Ireland.

The tri-colour is part of our heritage and history and should be used as a tool of national identity. So, IMO, it should be left alone as a reminder of where we have come from (i.e. break away from British rule, setting up of an Independant irish state etc.) to where we are going (i.e peace between all people on the island of Ireland) as a nation.

nollaig

Change the flag for the unionists?

The flag stands for peace and harmony between nationalists & unionists

Surely, unionists would have nothing against that???

Gurgle

nollaig wrote:

The flag stands for peace and harmony between nationalists & unionists

Surely, unionists would have nothing against that???

May I introduce The Revd and Rt Hon. Ian Paisley

The one true reason to be grateful that NI is not an independant nuclear power.

Nalz

I would love to see our national flag as the harp with green background, political and religious stance aside. It feels more patriotic, proud and national to me for some reason

brianthebard

Ironic that the harp as a national symbol was given to us by Henry the VIII though...

ApeXaviour

BossArky wrote:

was by Irish nationalists shortly after the French Revolution in 1848.

Shortly after? As in a good half century.

Meanwhile, as einstein worked as a swiss patent clerk...

luckat

The green is for the south, the orange for the north and the white for peace, symbolising unity of Ireland's two traditions in peace.

The tricolour format was a homage to the flag of the French revolutionaries.

The green-white-and-orange tricolour was one of the flags used by Irish republicans historically, and was one of the two flags that flew over the GPO in 1916.

walrusgumble

Kojak wrote:

are you suggesting we change our national flag, walrusgumble, just so the unionists will be happy?? I don't think the colour of the flag (at the moment, anyways) has much to do with them not wanting a united Ireland.

The tri-colour is part of our heritage and history and should be used as a tool of national identity. So, IMO, it should be left alone as a reminder of where we have come from (i.e. break away from British rule, setting up of an Independant irish state etc.) to where we are going (i.e peace between all people on the island of Ireland) as a nation.

i totally agree. don't know why unionist woud find it insulting considering they use the red hand of o'neill, one of the last great gaelic chieftans.

no i was refering to another persons comments on there were different variations of the flag eg green white and yellow/gold, like the vatican flag.i was disagreeing with the idea/suggestion for discussion that green white and yellow/gold shoud ever be used.if it was used then unionist could never trust the republic for fear of rome rule etc

someone else referred to flag not being a problem for united ireland, in my opinion, if by some magical reason (wont hod my breath in our lifetime) that unionist joined a united ireland or nationalist breed them out in the north, likes of paisey or some new upstart from unionist side would have an opinion on the flag

i agree and share yer stance on the flag, seen the whole idea for it during wolfe tones time was for peace between both communities and united ireland.

Gurgle

walrusgumble wrote:

someone else referred to flag not being a problem for united ireland, in my opinion, if by some magical reason (wont hod my breath in our lifetime) that unionist joined a united ireland or nationalist breed them out in the north, likes of paisey or some new upstart from unionist side would have an opinion on the flag

i agree and share yer stance on the flag, seen the whole idea for it during wolfe tones time was for peace between both communities and united ireland.

Orange is a representation of protestants not unionists.

Comes from Willian III (William of Orange), a Dutch protestant who usurped the (rightfull;)) Catholic King James II to become king of England.

Probably the man most responsible for the last 400 years of strife between Catholics and Protestants.

walrusgumble wrote:

don't know why unionist woud find it insulting considering they use the red hand of o'neill, one of the last great gaelic chieftans

The red hand goes way further back than that - Its a symbol of Lugh Lamh-fada or Lugh Lamg-dearg, the Celtic god of War. So its twice as ironic that its used as a symbol of protestant unionists 'faithful' (lol) to the British (Dutch/German) monarchy.

RedPlanet

I recall having heard, or read that the colours are Green for Ireland and White and Gold for the Papal flag.
An apt symbol of the relationship between DeValera's Ireland and the Catholic Church.
You still hear people refering the the colours of the tricolour as green, white and gold.

vesp

nollaig wrote:

The flag stands for peace and harmony between nationalists & unionists
Surely, unionists would have nothing against that???

Its the same flag as was draped on the coffin of the Shankhill road bomber, for example. ( remember when it was carried by Adams). If you see no reason why many unionists in N. Ireland would be distrustful of the Irish flag, and if you do not understand why the majority in N. Ireland wish to remain part of the UK...

Fratton Fred

Gurgle wrote:

Orange is a representation of protestants not unionists.

I'm a "Protestant" (an Anglican actually) and the Orange flag does not represent me.

Protestant is a broad tem used freely in Ireland, when usually the reference is to Presbytarians.

To include an Anglican alongside a Presbytarian is similar to grouping all Catholics with Opus Dei.

Protestant means pretty much every Christian following other than Orthodox or Roman Caholic.

Aedh Baclamh

brianthebard wrote:

Ironic that the harp as a national symbol was given to us by Henry the VIII though...

Hey Brian, got any articles on this by any chance?

Gurgle

Fratton Fred wrote:

I'm a "Protestant" (an Anglican actually) and the Orange flag does not represent me.

Of course not, it doesn't represent the majority of protestants of any flavour. Its origon are political, not religious. It was originally a symbol of Holland, which got linked to protestants (I don't pretend to know which protestant is which) through William of Orange.

In NI, its now simply a symbol for bigotry and sectarian violence, same as the red hand flag.

Capt'n Midnight

I think the white is more symbolic of bandages

In the french flag the colours are NOT equal widths, are we sure ours are ?

how about a golden harp on a blue or green background ?

vesp

vesp wrote:

Its the same flag as was draped on the coffin of the Shankhill road bomber, for example. ( remember when it was carried by Adams).

Gurgle : "In NI, its now simply a symbol for bigotry and sectarian violence, same as the red hand flag" Some may see it that way, other do not, the same as other flags. After all, one mans freedom fighter is another mans terrorist. The red hand flag is used by some of those who feel their community is under siege.

walrusgumble

i like the flag. i like what it is meant to mean. but i agree with vesp on this point with regard to unionist view of the flag. if united ireland occurred it would be a small price to pay if the flag was changed. anyone who see the irish rugby team, can notice that while amhrain na bhfin is played, its only when ireland's call is performed, ALL members of the squad and supporters are comfortable joining in.(note players dont sing doesnt mean anything their too busy concentrating on the game ahead, just incase someone makes a point on that)

Fratton Fred

Gurgle wrote:

Of course not, it doesn't represent the majority of protestants of any flavour. Its origon are political, not religious. It was originally a symbol of Holland, which got linked to protestants (I don't pretend to know which protestant is which) through William of Orange.

In NI, its now simply a symbol for bigotry and sectarian violence, same as the red hand flag.

Which is pretty much how I see it, which is why I make the distinction.

fwiw, a Protestant is pretty much anyone who is not from the "Orthodox" or "Roman Catholic" church.