IRISH FLAG

So First and foremost, may we take this moment to introduce you to all things Irish…? Besides the lads, you , by now , think you know them very well. So this entire Irish section is to help you with 'background information' Those lads are very patriotic so a delve into history wont go amiss. Oirishness? well - heres some info on The Irish flag for a kickoff……….

FLAG

 
The Irish tricolour with its three vertical stripes of green, white, and orange has its roots in the era following the French Revolution's call for "liberty, equality, and fraternity." The tricolour was first used as a symbol of the Young Ireland movement that led an unsuccessful rebellion against British rule in Ireland in 1848. The Young Ireland banner was slightly different in that the order of the colours was different: the orange was closest to the staff.

The non-denominational nature of the 19th century Young Ireland movement is evident in the meaning behind the colours selected for the flag. The green stands for the Gaelic and Anglo-Norman and the orange for the descendants of the Protestant planters who stood with William of Orange. The white that connects the two symbolizes the truce between the factions.

The flag gained popularity in 1916 after it was flown over the General Post Office during the unsuccessful Easter Rising. Its place as Ireland's "official" flag is ensured by the Constitution of Ireland.

There you go! You must all recognize it! (Mainly ‘cos most of Westlife have a penchant for wrapping themselves up in it on stage regularly. _ don’t tell me? You thought it was a towel for wiping sweating brows? Groan……..) Now there is a large meaty section about all things Irish and themed ala Westlife as best these old dames could do. Go root around and learn some thing! ( HINT of the month - when referring to flag colours to those in Southern Ireland please note - green/white/GOLD is the expression * long tale * just DO it!)

HISTORY

Rarely has a flag possessed such lasting relevance as that of the "Tricolour," the national flag of the Republic of Ireland. Its three equal stripes illustrate the Irish political landscape as accurately today as in 1848, the year the flag was first unfurled.


Why Orange?
The colour orange is associated with Northern Irish Protestants because of William of Orange, the King of England who in 1690 defeated the deposed King James II, a Roman Catholic, in the fateful Battle of the Boyne near Dublin. William III's victory secured Protestant dominance over the island, to the enormous benefit of the 17th-century colonizers of northern Ireland — the English (mainly Anglicans) and Scots (mostly Presbyterians). Sometimes called Orangemen, Protestants in Northern Ireland celebrate the anniversary of the battle each July 12th.


Green for the Emerald Isle?
Green as the colour standing for the Irish Catholic nationalists of the south may have something to do with shamrocks and verdant landscapes, but more importantly, green symbolizes revolution. An earlier, unofficial Irish flag —the gold harp on a green background— served from 1798 until the early twentieth century as a symbol of nationalism. As the revolutionary James Connolly wrote, just weeks before he participated in the quixotic Easter Rebellion (1916) that led to his execution by firing squad:

For centuries the green flag of Ireland was a thing accurst and hated by the English garrison in Ireland, as it is still in their inmost hearts...
...the green flag of Ireland will be solemnly hoisted over Liberty Hall as a symbol of our faith in freedom, and as a token to all the world that the working class of Dublin stands for the cause of Ireland, and the cause of Ireland is the cause of a separate and distinct nationality.
—Worker's Republic, April 8, 1916

A Lasting Truce between Orange and Green?
Although it was not adopted as the national flag of Ireland until independence from Britain on December 6, 1921, the Tricolour was first unfurled in public on March 7, 1848, by the militant nationalist Thomas Francis Meagher, (the stripes, however, were arranged differently at that time). Explaining the significance of the Tricolour, Meagher expressed a hope for his country that is unfortunately still unrealized today:

The white in the centre signifies a lasting truce between the "Orange" and the "Green," and I trust that beneath its folds the hands of the Irish Protestant and the Irish Catholic may be clasped in generous and heroic brotherhood.

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