Republic of Ireland

The Irish Tricolour

suaitheantas na hÉireann

The Irish tricolour was originally a gift from a group of French women sympathetic to the Irish, to Thomas Francis Meagher in 1848. However, it was not the flag that was considered to be representative of the Irish. That honour went to the original flag of Leinster, which takes the Irish harp, and places it on a green field. This was widely used to represent the nation during the initial struggle for independence.

However, during the Easter Uprising in 1916, the tricolour was raised over Dublin Post Office, and and from then, the tricolour was seen as the flag of a new Ireland.

During the 1919 war for independence, the tricolour was adopted by the Irish Republic, and then formally by the Irish Free State in 1922, and finally given constitutional status with the adoption of the 1937 Constitution of Ireland.

The colours of the flag have no official meaning, though it is widely believed that the green represents the Gaelic/Catholic history and traditions of Ireland. The Orange represents the Protestant minority supporters of William of Orange. The use of the Orange in the flag was an attempt to reconcile Ireland's independence with the Loyalist community. The white represents a lasting truce between the two communities, and a hope that the two will live in lasting peace.