Irish Flag

[Richiecats]

Is there any truth in that the colours of the Irish Flag are:-

Green represents the original Celtic/Catholic people
White being for peace
Orange represents the Protestants

Also why to some people say the colours are Green, White and Gold

[dlofnep]

Yes, it's pretty much a peace symbol between protestanism and catholicism in Ireland. It was used first by a local waterford man, Thomas Francis Meagher, who got the idea from France.

[Stagger Lee]

so was there any type of Irish flag before the tri-colour?

[dlofnep]

Originally Posted by Stagger Lee

so was there any type of Irish flag before the tri-colour?

Tricolour was flown first in 1848. Prior to that, there was the Green flag with a Harp.

[Richiecats]

Thanks for that, anybody got any idea's on the Green, Whie and Gold thing, is it some peope can't bring them self to say orange or is there some history reason.

[ContraVibe]

It was Gold before it was Orange right?

[sceptre]

Originally Posted by ContraVibe

It was Gold before it was Orange right?

No. It was green, white and orange in its first creation in 1848.

Ideas behind the "gold" thing include people assuming the third colour comes from the harp on the older flags (which it doesn't) and hence might be gold, poetic licence to make it rhyme with things, a nod towards the papal flag or some people just being idiots who can't read. Pick one at random.

[johnny_doyle]

Originally Posted by dlofnep

Tricolour was flown first in 1848. Prior to that, there was the Green flag with a Harp.

the Green flag with harp is still used by the Irish Navy where it is referred to as the Naval Jack.

http://www.military.ie/naval/uniform/flags/index.htm

the official usage etc of the National Flag :

http://www.taoiseach.gov.ie/upload/p...tions/1104.pdf

[mickeyrooo]

Originally Posted by Richiecats

Thanks for that, anybody got any idea's on the Green, Whie and Gold thing, is it some peope can't bring them self to say orange or is there some history reason.

Im not exactly an old man but when I was young it was Green White Gold. I remember being in the scouts and an army officer was in one week to tell us about his work and about Ireland etc.. anyway he said that the Irish flag is actually Orange not Gold...we were all very shocked. So I went home and asked my brother ..he said that the gold is the true colour of Ireland and that it was the flag of the 'Old IRA'
How much truth is in that I dont know.

I also heard a story that when the GAA was awarding some county colours back at the turn of the last century they awarded Offaly the Irish colours...Green White and Gold...
How much truth is in that I dont know but I did hear that once

[lockie83]

Originally Posted by mickeyrooo

Im not exactly an old man but when I was young it was Green White Gold. I remember being in the scouts and an army officer was in one week to tell us about his work and about Ireland etc.. anyway he said that the Irish flag is actually Orange not Gold...we were all very shocked. So I went home and asked my brother ..he said that the gold is the true colour of Ireland and that it was the flag of the 'Old IRA'
How much truth is in that I dont know.

I also heard a story that when the GAA was awarding some county colours back at the turn of the last century they awarded Offaly the Irish colours...Green White and Gold...
How much truth is in that I dont know but I did hear that once

The GAA actually held a tournament and the winner of the tournament got to wear the Irish flag colours on their jerseys. Offaly obviously won the tournament.

[dlofnep]

Originally Posted by Richiecats

Thanks for that, anybody got any idea's on the Green, Whie and Gold thing, is it some peope can't bring them self to say orange or is there some history reason.

Mass misinformation is the real why. The flag symbolises peace between the two cultures on the Island.

[FiSe]

Back to that Green with Harph, if I may, since when it was used and was there anything before that?
As it is the Leinster coat of arms from whhich is that symbol taken...

And was that 'local waterford man, Thomas Francis Meagher' actually an officer fighting in the American war of independance?

Could be a bit confused here, so sorry...
Thanks.

[sceptre]

Originally Posted by FiSe

Back to that Green with Harph, if I may, since when it was used and was there anything before that?
As it is the Leinster coat of arms from whhich is that symbol taken...

There was a blue flag with a harp. There's a good argument for stating that the national colour for Ireland is royal blue rather than green - the harp on a field of green is the Irish Catholic Confederation flag so it dates from 1641 or earlier. The hap on a field of blue is older as a coat of arms. You could argue a case in many ways. Go back that far and coats of arms were used far more than flags.

As for the Offaly thing, I wouldn't believe anything of the sort unless I saw some sort of half evidence. the idea of Offaly winning any sort of tournament would be odd for a county that never won a football championship until the 1970s and a hurling one until the 1980s. In the absence of a citation I'd say it's just something someone made up but if there's any evidence that'd be good (and if nothing else, there's always Seamus Darby's famous kick so they don't need the glory of a vague past tournament to console them any more).

And was that 'local waterford man, Thomas Francis Meagher' actually an officer fighting in the American war of independance?

Could be a bit confused here, so sorry...
Thanks.

You're only slightly confused. He was a union general in the civil war. He was born 50 years after the US war of independence was over. A very interesting guy and if anyone hasn't read about him, I'd encourage you to do so as it is a very interesting life, regardless of his having been Irish (and yes, Waterford - he was born in the heart of Waterford city). After the Young Irelander rebellion in 1948 he was sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered. After some public outcry he, William Smith O'Brien and a few others were sent to Tasmania instead. he got married in Australia, sent his ticket of leave back to the authorities (the document that let him move around in exchange for a promise not to escape) and told them that he'd consider himself free the next day. He escaped to the US, became a journalist, a lawyer and a lecturer, checked out Costa Rica as a lace for the Irish to emigrate to, joined the army after debating whether to join the union or confederacy (opting for the former), rose to brigadier general, was made acting governor of Montana after the war and later died when he fell off a steamboat. Worth filling in the gaps with some proper reading.

[Cris Jones]

Originally Posted by sceptre

There's a good argument for stating that the national colour for Ireland is royal blue rather than green

Interesting since colours have come up so much in the thread - blue used to be associated more with being a protestant much more than orange.

[Cris Jones]

Originally Posted by dlofnep

The flag symbolises peace between the two cultures on the Island.

The flag was certainly intended to signify and hope for harmony between the two cultures in Ireland.