Flag of Ireland / Irish Flag
Flag of Ireland
Anglo-Norman
adventurers first invaded Ireland in 1167 and by the end of the Middle
Ages, England had embarked on a policy of the conquest, confiscation and
plantation of Irish lands, a policy that led to the eventual
subordination of Irish political and economic interests. The traditional
flag of Ireland consisted of a green field bearing the golden-harp emblem
of Brian Boru, Ireland's 11th-century king, and during the 19th century,
when a movement for home rule was growing in strength, this 'Green Flag'
came to be seen as the symbol of an independent Ireland.
In 1848 - the year in which revolutions occurred throughout Europe - a
green, white and orange tricolor, whose design was influenced by the
French Tricolore, was publicly unveiled in Waterford by Thomas Francis
Meagher, a leader of the Young Ireland movement. During the Easter Rising
of 1916, Irish nationalists seized Dublin's General Post Office,
proclaimed a republic and adopted this tricolor as their national flag of
Ireland.
Following the establishment of the Irish Free State, in 1921, the
tricolor was officially confirmed, being written into the constitution
in 1937.
The flag's green stripe represents the Gaelic and Catholic communities,
the orange stripe denotes Ireland's Protestants (originally supporters of
William of Orange), while the white stripe symbolizes peace and the
union of the two faiths.
