Northern Ireland Flags Issue

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

There are various proposals as to what flag could represent Northern Ireland's various communities as a whole; see Northern Ireland flags issue#Possible Replacements for some suggestions.

Prominent flags displayed Union Flag The flag of the United Kingdom, the Union Flag or Union Jack, is the only official flag currently used on governmental buildings in Northern Ireland.http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/adhocs/flags/flags.pdf It is made from an amalgamation of the crosses of Cross of St Andrew (representing Scotland), Flag of England (representing England) and Flag of St. Patrick#Saint Patrick.27s Flag (representing Ireland).

The Union Flag is often flown by unionist (Northern Ireland) and Ulster loyalism but is disliked by many Irish Nationalist and Irish Republican.

The Ulster Banner The Ulster Banner, the former Executive Committee of the Privy Council of Northern Ireland flag, was used from 1953-1972 by the devolved Stormont government to represent the government of Northern Ireland (though, like other flags in the United Kingdom, it never had any civic status) Encyclopaedia Britannica says: According to British tradition, a coat of arms or flag is granted to the government of a territory, not to the people residing there. Therefore, when the government of Northern Ireland was disbanded in March 1972, its arms and flag officially disappeared; however, the flag continues to be used by groups (such as sports teams) representing the territory in an unofficial manner.. It is currently still considered by some Unionists to be a de facto civil flag to uniquely represent Northern Ireland, even though its official government use ended when the Government of Northern Ireland was abolished under the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973. It continues to be used by some sports teams representing Northern Ireland, for example by the Northern Ireland national football team FIFA website, and by the Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games teamhttp://www.commonwealthgames.com/ Commonwealth Games website. Choose "Northern Ireland" from the "Countries" menu.. Some local councils, such as the predominantly-unionist Castlereagh Borough Council, continue to fly it outside their offices.http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/gb-u-cre.html

The flag dates from 1953, though the design (which appears in the Coat of Arms of Northern Ireland which dates from 1924) is based on the Flag of Ulster which covered what is now Northern Ireland and three counties of the Republic of Ireland. There are three differences with the Flag of Ulster, namely the white background, the six-pointed star (representing the six Northern Ireland counties) and the crown.

Irish Tricolour The flag of the Republic of Ireland, the Irish Tricolour is regularly flown by Republicans and Nationalists to show their support for a United Ireland. The colours represent Irish Catholics (green), Protestants (orange) and the desire for peace (white) and was originally designed by Irish Nationalists in the 19th century to represent a united independent island. In its original 19th century form, the orange band was at the mast-side of the flag.In the early 20th century when the flag was re-adopted by Irish nationalists it was altered to have the green band closest to the mast. The Irish Tricolour is regularly flown by Nationalists in Northern Ireland to show their support for a United Ireland and their opposition to British rule.

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, which in practical terms affected the Tricolour most often. This act was subsequently repealed 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. However Nationalists argue that the flag represents peace (white) between both nationalist Irish (green) and unionist British (orange) and it should be viewed as such as there is no official flag at present for the whole of Ireland. Nationalists believe that there should not be an issue 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.

Some local councils have debated the usage of the flag. Belfast City Council for example, had this flag in the Lord Mayor's official office, when put in place by former Sinn Féin Lord Mayor Alex Maskey, MLA, along with the Union Flag. When the Social Democratic and Labour Party's (SDLP) Alban McGuinness was previously Lord Mayor, however, he side-stepped the issue by having neither flag in his office.

Use of the flag in Northern Ireland has been debated in recent years, with Belfast City Council discussing (in September 2003), amongst other things, using the flag to fly alongside the Union Flag on designated occasions. The debate, however, all but collapsed after the long term suspension of the Northern Ireland government.

Flags and emblems no longer in official use Cross of Saint Patrick The Cross of St Patrick is a red saltire (X-shaped cross) on a white field (background). It may have been based on the arms of the FitzGeraldhttp://www.qualityflags.co.uk/history_of_the_union_jack.htm and is believed by some to be unrelated to Saint Patrick, Ireland's patron saint. It was used in an official capacity before the Partition of Ireland by the British authorities to represent Ireland within the flag of the former United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and now the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. As a result it is not recognised by Irish Nationalists in an official context and is argued that international travelers would be confused by it in an international context as they would not be able to associate the flag with Ireland. Devised in 1783, one theory for it basis is that similar badges were worn on St Patrick's Day. It is still used in some St Patrick's Day Parades in Northern Ireland where it has been waved by some people, notably in parades organised by Down District Council and Belfast City Council, as an alternative to the Irish Tricolour and flown at some council offices (notably Belfast City Hall). "Paddy's Day Belfast Bash" from Everything Ulster, 17 March 2006 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 seen by some as a neutral flag representing the island of Ireland on St Patrick's Day and is used on the emblem of the Police Service of Northern Ireland.http://www.ulsternation.org.uk/cross_of_st_patrick.htm

Flags used in an all-Ireland context Provincial Ulster Flag The flag of the Province of Ulster, (the 9 county entity that incorporates the 3 Republic of Ireland Ulster counties and the 6 Northern Ireland counties). It is used in an official capacity by the Government of the Republic of Ireland and is often flown in Gaelic Athletic Association contexts, though it also appears on the coat of arms of the Ulster Unionist Party. It is also often used by supporters of the Ulster rugby team.

The "four provinces flag" incorporates the flags of the four Irish provinces of Ulster, Munster, Leinster and Connacht, and is 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.

Other flags Ulster Nation Flag This flag is used by Ulster nationalism 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 made up of St Andrew's cross (below), St Patrick's Cross (above) and the red hand and star from the Northern Ireland flag (above), with the star coloured yellow (instead of white as in the Ulster Banner) based on the colours of the flag of the Irish province of Ulster.

St Andrew's Cross St Andrew's Cross is the traditional 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 and even today the Protestant people within Northern Ireland have strong links with Scotland. St Andrew was one of the disciples of Jesus Christ and the flag is said to have been inspired by a white cross of cloud appearing on a blue sky to Scottish King preparing for battle.

Possible replacements As there is currently no unique official flag for Northern Ireland, there have been various suggestions about what should be done. Apart from reusing an existing flag (such as the Cross of St Patrick), various new designs have been created.

This flag was being considered by the Her Majesty's Government in the late 1990s and was leaked to BBC NewsBBC Inside Ulster Report circa 1995. It was never officially proposed. It is essentially the old NI Government Flag with the crown removed and some yellow taken from the Province of Ulster Flag.

When this flag was shown by journalists to various people around Belfast, the reaction was mainly unfavourable. Although some liked its inclusive nature, typical responses were along the lines of "We already have a flag, it's the Union Jack" or "We already have a flag, it's the Irish Tricolour".

This flag is a hybrid between the Saint Patrick's Flag and the Ulster Banner. It adds the Red Hand of Ulster and the six-pointed star to the St. Patrick's Flag, but does not add the crown and dispenses with the Flag of England found on the Ulster Banner.

In 2003, the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (one of only two Assembly Parties along with the Green Party in Northern Ireland that 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).

References

See also

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)

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)