User:Jnestorius/Flag of Ireland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The flag of Ireland (Irish: bratach na hÉireann / suaitheantas na hÉireann[1]) or Irish tricolour is a vertical tricolour of green, white, and orange, with the green band at the hoist. It is the national flag of the Republic of Ireland, serving as civil flag, state flag, military flag, and ensign. Many Irish nationalists use the tricolour as the flag of the entire island of Ireland; however, this is disputed, especially by Ulster unionists.[2]
Use | National flag and ensign |
---|---|
Proportion | 1:2 |
Adopted | 1919 |
Design | A vertical tricolour of green, white, and orange. |
The flag symbolises peace (white) between Ireland's two traditions: the Catholic Gaelic (green) and the Protestant British (orange). Symbolic combinations of green and orange are reported from around 1800, but the tricolour flag first came to prominence when Thomas Francis Meagher brought one from France in 1848. It remained a minor symbol until the 1910s, during which time the unofficial flag of Irish nationalists was a green flag with a gold harp. The tricolour became associated with militant republicanism and was called the Sinn Fein flag after the 1916 Rising. It was used by the Irish Republic proclaimed in 1919, adopted by the Irish Free State after 1922, and enshrined in the 1937 Constitution of Ireland.