Home Page >
Flag of Ireland
Irish Flag
The modern day Irish flag (the flag that represents the Republic of Ireland), with its wide, bold stripes of green, white and orange, took nearly a century to be accepted as the national flag of Ireland. In the mid-1800s, when the tricolor flag was beginning to gain recognition from the Irish people, the national flag of Ireland was green with a centered yellow, or gold, harp. This harp flag had served as the symbol of Ireland since the end of the 1700s.
In April of 1848, Thomas Francis Meagher introduced a tricolor flag to the Irish. The Irish flag he introduced was arranged differently than the official flag in use today. It was orange, white and green. He had brought it from Paris and presented it at a Dublin meeting. It is thought that the flag's symbolism reflected hope for peace (White) between the Northern Irish Protestants (Orange) and the Irish Republican Catholics (Green). Orange was associated with the Protestants because of William the Orange, King of England, who in 1690 in the Battle of the Boyne near Dublin, defeated King James II, a Roman Catholic. This victory secured Protestant dominance over northern Ireland and resulted in the Protestants also being referred to as "Orangemen". The green stripe, used to represent the Irish Catholics, was employed for many reasons. Green is associated with the Emerald Isle and shamrocks for certain, but it became the color of nationalism and revolution against the English as well. The white between them stands for hope to unite people of Ireland in generous brotherhood.
The tricolor flag, however, was not adopted as the official flag of Ireland until Ireland became independent in December of 1921. It was flown over the G.P.O. (General Post Office and the Headquarters of the 1916 Rising) through 1937, and gained recognition as the national flag of Ireland. In 1937, the tricolor Irish flag's use was confirmed in the Constitution under Article 7 that stated "The national flag is the tricolour of green, white and orange."
ShopIrish.com (by Creative Irish Gifts) has the most fitting gifts for those who are Irish or just interested in Irish flags. And your gift purchase today will not only enchant your recipient, but will financially support the Irish Children's Fund, Inc., the reason above all others Creative Irish Gifts is here to serve you. So please bookmark ShopIrish.com, and keep us in mind for:
Anniversaries
Baptisms
Birthdays
Christmas
Easter
Graduations
House Warming
Mother's Day & Father's Day
New Baby
Retirements
Thoughtful Just Becauses
Valentine's Day
Weddings
And, of course, St. Patrick's Day!
If it's Irish Flags you seek, search no longer. You've found the right place - ShopIrish.com by Creative Irish Gifts - the place for great Irish gift ideas!
|
