Northern Ireland flags issue

The Northern Ireland flags issue is one that divides the population along sectarian lines. Depending on political allegiance, people identify with differing flags and symbols, some of which have, or have had, official status in Northern Ireland.

There have been various proposals as to what flag could represent Northern Ireland's various communities as a whole; see below for some suggestions.

Unionist/loyalist flags

Union Flag

The flag of the United Kingdom, the Union Flag, is the only official flag, and is routinely used on central government buildings in Northern Ireland. It is made from an amalgamation of the crosses of St George (representing England), St Andrew (representing Scotland) and St Patrick (representing Ireland).

The Union Flag is often flown by Unionists and Loyalists but is disliked by Nationalists and Republicans. On 3 December 2012, Belfast City Council, which had hitherto flown the Union Flag every day from City Hall, voted to fly it only on designated days, sparking several weeks of Loyalist street protests throughout Northern Ireland which are ongoing to date. The protests were organised and led by Willie Frazer, former director of Families Acting for Innocent Relatives (FAIR), and Jamie Bryson, a young Loyalist man from Donaghadee.

Bryson and Frazer have been remanded in custody for their roles in organising illegal parades. Bryson hid out for a few days from the police while they were seeking to arrest him. Jamie Bryson stated that the "UVF were not terrorists".

Ulster Banner

The Ulster Banner, the flag of the Executive Committee of the Privy Council of Northern Ireland, was used from 1953 to 1972 by the Stormont government to represent the government of Northern Ireland. After that government was suspended in March 1972, it was dissolved under the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973, so that its flag ceased to have any official status; however, the flag continues to be used by some local governments, such as the predominantly unionist Castlereagh, which flies it outside its offices. It continues to be used by some sports teams representing Northern Ireland internationally, for example by the Northern Ireland football team, and by the Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games team. The Banner was created in 1953, and the design (derived from the coat of arms granted to the Executive Committee of the Privy Council for Northern Ireland in 1924) is based on the flag of the Irish province of Ulster, which consists of nine counties six of which are within Northern Ireland. There are four differences between the Ulster Banner and Ulster Flag, namely the white background, the six-pointed star (representing the six Northern Ireland counties), the open thumb, and the inclusion of a crown.

UK Government law and policy states that in Northern Ireland: The Ulster flag and the Cross of St Patrick have no official status and under the Flags Regulations are not permitted to be flown from Government Buildings.

St Andrew's Saltire

St Andrew's Cross is the flag of Scotland, and is one of the flags which makes up the Union Flag. It is used by some Loyalists in Northern Ireland to highlight their Scottish ancestry. St Andrew was one of the Apostles of Jesus Christ and the flag is said to have been inspired by a white cross of cloud appearing on a blue sky to a Scottish King preparing for battle.

Nationalist/Republican flags

Irish Tricolour

The "Flag of Ireland" or "Irish Tricolour" is the national flag of the Republic of Ireland, and is regarded by Republicans and Nationalists as the flag of all of Ireland. Article 7 of the Constitution of Ireland states: "The national flag is the tricolour of green, white and orange." A common interpretation is that the green represents Gaelic culture and Irish nationalism, the orange represents the Orange Institution or more broadly the unionist community, and the white represents peace between them. It was first flown publicly by Thomas Francis Meagher, leader of the "Young Irelanders", at a meeting in Waterford on 7 March 1848.

The Flags and Emblems Act, 1954, which had been enacted by the Unionist Government at Stormont, restricted the display of flags and emblems which would cause a breach of the peace, and was in practice applied only to the Tricolour. This act was repealed in 1987 by the UK Government at Westminster.

The flying of the Irish Tricolour by Nationalists in Northern Ireland on St Patrick's Day has caused some controversy, with Unionists arguing that St Patrick is the patron saint of the whole of Ireland, not just the Republic of Ireland or its citizens. Nationalists, however, argue that the flag represents all of Ireland, point to its intended meaning of peace (white) between both nationalist (green) and unionist (orange), and argue that there is no official flag at present for the whole of Ireland. Nationalists believe that there should not be a problem with flying the Tricolour on this day as Unionists fly the former flag of the Northern Ireland Government (the Ulster Banner) during the 12 July celebrations. The Twelfth, however, is an overtly unionist event, whereas St Patrick's Day is regarded as a non-political occasion.

Some local councils have debated the usage of the flag. In 2002 Belfast City Council displayed the Tricolour along with the Union Flag in the Lord Mayor's parlour during the term of Sinn Féin Lord Mayor Alex Maskey. Conversely in 1997, when the Social Democratic and Labour Party's (SDLP) Alban Maginness was Lord Mayor neither flag was displayed. In September 2003 Belfast City Council discussed flying the flag alongside the Union Flag on designated occasions.

Green harp flag

Further information: Green Ensign

Original variant of the green harp flag in the 18th century.

Use of the harp as an Irish heraldic device can be traced to the 16th century. A gold harp on a green flag was used by Eoghan Rua Ó Néill (Owen Roe O'Neill) in 1642, when he commanded Irish Confederate soldiers during the so-called "Irish Confederate Wars", but was recognized as the colour of Ireland only with the Rebellion in 1798. The harp pillar by the 17th century was shaped into a grotesque head of a mythological beast. During the 2nd half of the 17th century, it was further transformed into a female head and torso. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the figure acquired a pair of wings, one of which formed the neck of the harp. The figure became known as the "Maid of Erin", and became incorporated into the British arms representing Ireland.

Throughout the 1800s, the green harp flag was the main flag used by Irish nationalists. After 1916, the Irish Tricolour became the main nationalist/republican flag, after it was hoisted during the Easter Rising.

Sunburst flag

The "Sunburst flag" was first used in 1858, by the Fenian Brotherhood and Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB). It is meant to symbolize the Fianna warriors of Irish mythology, who are given the epithet of Gal Gréine or Scal Ghréine, meaning "sunburst".

Versions of the flag were adopted in 1893 by Conradh na Gaeilge (an Irish-language group), and in 1909 by Fianna Éireann (a republican youth movement). Since then it has been used mainly by the youth wings of republican groups such as Na Fianna Éireann.

It should be noted that there is more than one version of the flag. The earliest versions have a green background with a golden "sunset" in the middle. On modern versions, the sun may be orange, gold or yellow and may be closer to the middle.

Starry Plough flag

An early version of the Starry Plough banner was first used by the Irish Citizen Army, a socialist republican paramilitary group. The ICA was formed in 1913 and took part in the Dublin Lockout (1913) and the Easter Rising (1916). The blue and white version was designed by members of the Republican Congress in the mid-1930s. It was subsequently used by Sinn Féin, Official Sinn Féin and the associated paramilitary groups, and was also adopted by groups within the "Irish Republican Socialist Movement" and socialist republicans in general. Groups that currently use it include the Workers' Party, Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP) and Irish National Liberation Army (INLA). Some versions incorporate a stylised plough behind the stars.

The flag depicts the asterism of The Plough — known as the Big Dipper in North America, and formed by the seven brightest stars of Ursa Major — which is one of the most noticeable features of the night sky over Ireland throughout the year.

Flags often seen as neutral

Saint Patrick's Saltire

The Cross of St Patrick is a red saltire (X-shaped cross) on a white field. Many theories exist concerning its origin, but it was not widely used before the 19th century. It was chosen to represent The Most Illustrious Order of Saint Patrick in 1783 and used to represent Ireland on the Union Flag arising from the union of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland in 1801.

It is used in some St Patrick's Day parades in Northern Ireland, notably in parades organized by Down District Council and Belfast City Council, and flown at some council offices (notably Belfast City Hall). In the case of the City Hall, this happened first in 1994, after the council's Policy and Resource committee had passed a resolution approving its use in January of that year. It is also used on the emblem of the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

Ulster flag

The flag of Ulster—the nine-county province that incorporates three counties from the Republic of Ireland and the six counties of Northern Ireland—is flown in Gaelic Athletic Association matches both between provincial and county-based teams. It is also often used by supporters of the Ulster rugby team and notably appears on the coat of arms of the Ulster Unionist Party . At the 2011 Rugby World Cup, the Ireland team have entered the field of play at the beginning of their matches with the Irish tricolour and the Ulster flag.

Four Provinces flag

Main article: Four Provinces flag and coat of arms

A "four provinces flag" incorporates the flags of the four Irish provinces of Ulster, Munster, Leinster and Connacht, and is sometimes used to represent the entire island of Ireland. It is used by nationalists and by some all-Ireland institutions such as the Irish Rugby Football Union, and is intended to be a more neutral flag than the Irish tricolour.

Sporting flags

Flag of the IRFU

In several sports, the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland are represented by one team. Because of this, the flags designed for and used by the teams are often seen as neutral, as they are made to represent both countries as one. The flag of the Ireland cricket team, featuring a shamrock, was made to represent the island of Ireland in its entirety. Although it has no official usage outside cricket, it is a neutral flag of Ireland. The same can also be said for the flag of the Ireland national rugby union team.

Separatist flags

Ulster Nation flag

This flag is used by Ulster separatists who wish to see Northern Ireland leave the United Kingdom and become an independent state, not joining together with the Republic of Ireland.

The flag is a red saltire on a blue field with the Red Hand of Ulster superimposed on a yellow six pointed star in the centre. The flag is made up of St Patrick's Cross for Ireland, St Andrew's Cross for Scotland and the six-pointed star and Red Hand of Ulster from the Ulster Banner.

Flag proposals

Unlike in England, Wales and Scotland, there is currently no widely-accepted unique flag for Northern Ireland. There have been a number of designs and proposals made for a flag for Northern Ireland.

This flag was being considered by the British Government in the late 1990s and was leaked to BBC News. It was never officially proposed. It is essentially the Ulster Banner with the crown removed and some yellow taken from the Province of Ulster Flag.

This was a later design from the Flag Institute in 1998 shortly after the Good Friday Agreement, and again reaction was muted. The design attempted to hark back to the ancient flags of Ulster and the origins of the two communities. It retains the gold and red cross arms of the de Burgh Earls of Ulster and ancient symbol of the Red Hand of Neil, albeit with open thumb. The six pointed star was dropped for being "too loyalist" for the republican community. The white fimbriation (or edge) to the cross was included for two reasons, one to reflect the Norse heritage of Ulster and secondly to echo the Union flag. This was to balance the use of a gold background on the Provincial Ulster Flag and the white background of the Ulster Banner.

In 2003, the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland, which claims to represent both Nationalists and Unionists, came up with a few suggestions. One showed a flax flower, another a few steps from the Giant's Causeway and another (pictured, to right), a map of Northern Ireland (compare with the Korean Unification Flag, the Flag of Kosovo, or the Flag of Cyprus).

See also

• Flag of Northern Ireland
• List of flags of the United Kingdom
• List of flags used in Northern Ireland
• List of flags of the Republic of Ireland

External links

• Symbols in Northern Ireland - Flags Used in the Region by Dara Mulhern and Martin Melaugh; illustrated article from CAIN Project (Conflict Archive on the INternet)