MUSEUM OF PEOPLE'S FRIENDSHIP

IRISH FLAG

Undoubtedly, the Irish love their national symbols. Let's find out how and where it came from.

What exactly does this or that color on the Irish flag mean?

The pale green color symbolizes the era of Irish republicanism in the distant 1790s.

Orange represents the minority that were supporters of King William III. King William III defeated King James II and his predominantly Irish, Catholic army at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. His title came from the Principality of Orange in southern France, which has been a stronghold of the Protestant faith since the 16th century. Orange was included in an attempt to reconcile members of the Irish independence movement.

The white color in the center means the strength of the truce between the two cultures and living together in peace.

The colors of the flag are intended to be a symbol of integration and the desired unification of people of different traditions on the Emerald Isle.

Sometimes different shades of yellow are used instead of orange. This is done by those who are not comfortable with the belief that the orange flag represents Orange supporters. The Irish government actively discourages this, citing the Good Friday Agreement, which was signed in 1998 to promote peace and unity.

Interestingly, in songs and poetry, the colors are sometimes listed as "green, white and gold."

History of origin

Before the Irish got the current tricolor, they used a different flag. It was a green canvas with a harp as the symbol of Ireland. This flag has been mentioned since 1642. It was used by the Union of the United Irish. Following the Irish Rebellion in 1798, the traditions of the united Irish Republicans and Anglican Protestants who supported the Orange Order clashed.

The very first mention of the use of the current tricolor image dates back to September 1830. It was then used during celebrations in honor of this year's French Revolution, which restored the use of the French tricolor. The Irish flag did not become widely known then. And it happened 18 years later, in 1848.

At a meeting in Waterford on March 7, 1848, Thomas Francis Meagher, leader of Young Ireland, first publicly presented the flag from a second floor window at the Tone Club Wolfe. Inspired, Thomas addressed the assembled crowd on the street to celebrate yet another revolution that had just taken place in France. From March 1848, Irish banners appeared side by side with French ones at meetings held throughout the country.

Although the tricolor was not forgotten as a symbol of the ideal of union associated with young Ireland, it was rarely used between 1848 and 1916. Even on the eve of the Easter Rising of 1916, the green flag with the harp was more popular.