Ireland .ie

Meaning of the Flag

The national flag of Ireland (Irish: bratach na hÉireann), frequently referred to in Ireland as "the tricolour" (an trídhathach) and elsewhere as the Irish tricolour, is a vertical tricolour of green (at the hoist), white and orange. The proportions of the flag are 1:2 (that is to say, flown horizontally, the flag is half as high as it is wide). The United Irishmen, founded in the 1790s, were inspired by the French revolution, and used a green flag, to which they had a harp emblazoned. A rival organisation, the Orange Order, whose main strength was in Ulster, and which was exclusively for Protestants, especially members of the established Church of Ireland, was founded in 1795 in memory of King William of Orange and the Glorious Revolution of 1688. A 1928 British document said: The government in Ireland have taken over the so called Free State Flag in order to forestall its use by republican element and avoid legislative regulation, to leave them free to adopt a more suitable emblem later.

Meaning of Flag Colors

Green, White, Orange

Flag History

1. 1169
   

   Banner of Leinster (Gaelic harp on green) — the harp emerges as a symbol of Gaelic Ireland during the Norman invasion period.
2. 1801
   

   Union Jack — flown over Ireland from the Act of Union 1801 until partial independence in 1922.
3. 1848
   

   Tricolour first unfurled by Thomas Francis Meagher in Waterford on 7 March 1848 — green (Gaelic Catholic tradition), white (peace between communities) and orange (Protestant Williamite tradition).
4. Present
   

   Current national flag.

Location