The lack of Irish flags in Ireland

JustCoz

I was in New York last week and noticed that there are US flags everywhere. I know this is common in America but people have them in their gardens and everything. When I came home I noticed the lack of Irish flags. Walking around Dublin city, there's ones outside Leinster House and the Dáil but in general they are few and far between.

I think it wouls be nice to see a few more around the place. What do people think?

LadyJ

I don't really see much point in it tbh.

Tar.Aldarion

I think that I don't want to see them everywhere/anywhere...
Why do you want them around the place?

solskjaer20

No shortage here in Derry anyway.

Winters

I dont see the point either.

If everyone had them then they loose their value (imo) and also people just get pissed off. I know I think its awfully sad when I see tv and every second house in America has the big stars and stripes hanging outside it.

JustCoz

I think it's nice to show a bit of patriotism, not in an "in your face" way, but if things had been different 80 years ago, we could be seeing Union Jacks on O' Connell street.

solskjaer20

And lets not forget that the Union Jack is still flown from many official buildings in parts of the country.

LadyJ

JustCoz wrote:

I think it's nice to show a bit of patriotism, not in an "in your face" way, but if things had been different 80 years ago, we could be seeing Union Jacks on O' Connell street.

Or we could be seeing no flags at all,like now!

We all know we're Irish but there's no need to drape flags all over our streets and houses.

Wishbone Ash

It would be nice but only if people obeyed flag protocol - how often have you seen the tricolour flying after sunset or with the wrong colours :eek: - there is no gold or yellow on our flag.

The flaging flying in the USA rose sharply following 9/11.

Dave!

Probably cos it rains for about 10 months of the year, so they'd all be ruined.

Tar.Aldarion

Time to start dressing in green and such.

28064212

In America they're ridiculous about their patriotism. Sure I'm proud to be Irish, but I really couldn't give a flying **** if someone wanted to burn the tricolour. Only this week, the House of Representatives passed a bill 286-130 that would amend the constitution so that flag-burning could be declared a crime. It then went to the Senate, which voted 66-34 for it, only a single vote short of the 2/3 majority needed. That's completely insane, and I'd far rather be countryless than live in a society like that.

Besides, wait until there's some big sporting event which the Irish are in, the number of flags will increase fairly sharpish

Dave!

28064212 wrote:

In America they're ridiculous about their patriotism. Sure I'm proud to be Irish, but I really couldn't give a flying **** if someone wanted to burn the tricolour. Only this week, the House of Representatives passed a bill 286-130 that would amend the constitution so that flag-burning could be declared a crime. It then went to the Senate, which voted 66-34 for it, only a single vote short of the 2/3 majority needed. That's completely insane, and I'd far rather be countryless than live in a society like that.

Besides, wait until there's some big sporting event which the Irish are in, the number of flags will increase fairly sharpish

Yeah, if we made it into the world cup (*mumbles obscenities*), then there'd be tricolours everywhere

Jello

No I'd hate if we put flags everywhere and started saying ''I pledge allegiance to the flag of the Republic Of Ireland''.....The way the Americans fly their flags everywhere reminds me a bit of Nazi Germany.

hoody

well i think in ireland, the flag has been for so long a symbol of aggressive republicanism that there's a little bit of a stigma around it. which is unfortunate, because the Americans take real pride in their flag as a symbol of patriotism, and we can't do the same. i don't think they go out of their way to teach about the importance of the flag in school either - as in what the green, white and orange stand for.

Ruu_Old

I wouldnt like to see the number of flags like I see in American, its bloody ridiculous. Theres a neighbour of mine with 10 flags in the garden, not small ones either, also a large plastic statue of liberty and a pole with another big American flag on it. Indeed the sale of flags have risen since 9/11 but I dont see much point in it.
Theres also stupid laws here, that you cant have two flags on the same pole, like an American and an Irish one. The American flag has to be higher on the pole above other ones, bolleex tbh.

LadyJ

hoody wrote:

well i think in ireland, the flag has been for so long a symbol of aggressive republicanism that there's a little bit of a stigma around it. which is unfortunate,i don't think they go out of their way to teach about the importance of the flag in school either - as in what the green, white and orange stand for.

Isn't it green,orange(nationalists and unionists) and white(peace between the two)?

That's why I always thought it was weird that extreme republicans are so into it!

bounty

isn't there enough patriotic idiots?

daveirl

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daveirl

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Wishbone Ash

LadyJ wrote:

Isn't it green,orange(nationalists and unionists) and white(peace between the two)?

Except when we're in the World cup - then it's green, white and yellow or gold. :mad:

solskjaer20

Isn't it green,orange(nationalists and unionists) and white(peace between the two)?

That's why I always thought it was weird that extreme republicans are so into it!

Believe it or not, many republicans actually support the true meaning of the tri-colour.

BlitzKrieg

How many people have a tricolour?


I agree with many people here in that i dont have the desire to stick the tricolour out a window in every home.

But I would hope that most people have a tricolour so that when there are times appropiate for flag waving (national holiday, world cup, six nations etc etc) then one can be produced.

Having the flag up all the time in every home sort of makes it less special in my opinion.

LadyJ

solskjaer20 wrote:

Believe it or not, many republicans actually support the true meaning of the tri-colour.

Even the ones in the IRA?

Ruu_Old

I have one hanging on the wall of my living room, I live in the US. Don't want people to think Im American or something like that.:eek:

Demetrius

Many people might by wary of parading Irish flags about the place here in the South in case they might be thought of as Shinners. It is only when Ireland is being supported in sport that you see it. In fact, Irish soccor fans have taken alot of stigma away from it.

JustCoz

I don't mean that we should be sticking them out of every window, I think that the Americans are ridiculous with regards to flags but I just noticed how few there are. I wouldn't associate our tricolour with violence at all, I think we've come a long way. I just think it's a nice symbol, and tourists can see that we our proud of our nationality. I'm not talking ridiculous patriotism!

solskjaer20

Even the ones in the IRA?

Well I don't speak for the IRA, but I'd say yes, many of them.

And no we don't need any links to sectarian attacks, becasue we all know there have been.

But most of the people I know support the ideals the tri-colour stands for.

Not everyone in te north is a bigot you know. You can want self-determination for your country and not hate Protestants at the same time you know.

projectmayhem

i have one up in my bedroom, and i'm not a shinner by any means.

LadyJ

Tbh,I don't have a problem with our flag,and I like what it represents but I don't understand the people who fly it and also spend their time shouting and screaming about "those orange bastards!"

JustCoz

Demetrius wrote:

It is only when Ireland is being supported in sport that you see it. In fact, Irish soccor fans have taken alot of stigma away from it.

I agree

daveirl

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LadyJ

solskjaer20 wrote:

Not everyone in te north is a bigot you know. You can want self-determination for your country and not hate Protestants at the same time you know.

I know,my whole family are from the north and are protestant-friendly republicans.

I'm just saying that I think it's hypocritical of someone to say they support the flag and then join a terrorist organisation,like the RA,considering that the flag itself is all about peace between the two sides.

JustCoz

I think it's great that they are so patriotic, but where I was in Long Island, every house had a flag pole in the garden. The flag just loses meaning

YeAh!

JustCoz wrote:

I think it's great that they are so patriotic, but where I was in Long Island, every house had a flag pole in the garden. The flag just loses meaning

At least you know what country your in, i spose

JustCoz

True that!

solskjaer20

LadyJ wrote:

I know,my whole family are from the north and are protestant-friendly republicans.

I'm just saying that I think it's hypocritical of someone to say they support the flag and then join a terrorist organisation,like the RA.

You try living in the Bogside, or the Falls Rd or any of thosae places during internment, during Bloody Sunday, during the B Specials,etc etc and call them a terrorist group.

The PIRA may have done some terrible things over the years (and yes they did), but they were threre defednding people in nationalist areas when the RUC, British and Irish governments weren't. And that is a simple fact, republican persuasion or not.

daveirl

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snickerpuss

One of the houses on my road has 2 big flagpoles with the tricolour and a dublin flag and its just stupid looking.
And i quite like our flag, but i don't really think we need it everywhere.

lostexpectation

hoody wrote:

well i think in ireland, the flag has been for so long a symbol of aggressive republicanism that there's a little bit of a stigma around it. which is unfortunate, because the Americans take real pride in their flag as a symbol of patriotism, and we can't do the same. i don't think they go out of their way to teach about the importance of the flag in school either - as in what the green, white and orange stand for.

i reckon the american flag is associated with aggressive republicanism too these days

New_Departure06

I agree this is a problem. We should not have to play down Irish identity just to show how "multicultural" we are. Remember Irish people live here too!

LadyJ

solskjaer20 wrote:

You try living in the Bogside, or the Falls Rd or any of thosae places during internment, during Bloody Sunday, during the B Specials,etc etc and call them a terrorist group.

The PIRA may have done some terrible things over the years (and yes they did), but they were threre defednding people in nationalist areas when the RUC, British and Irish governments weren't. And that is a simple fact, republican persuasion or not.

Look,I'm bloody sure I'd feel differently in many ways if I'd lived in the North during bloody Sunday. I'm not pretending to know what it was like. I can appreciate your point here.

However,I'm just saying that,from looking at their actions over the years,it's hard to believe that they really do believe in the meaning of the flag.

frobisher

You should see Denmark. It's unbeleivable, there are flags everywhere all the time. It's like ze Germans only left yesterday.

solskjaer20

daveirl wrote:

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As you say, thats an opinion.

Ofcourse Jean McConville should never have been killed, it was an atrocity.

But you're seriously missing the point here. I'm 19...I missed the worst of the Troubles. By the time I was twelve or so, the majoirty of killing had stopped. But I still remember what it was like to have a gun pointed at me by a British soldier.....it was a daily occurence. In fact it was usually an hourly occurence. I remember the Brits walking past my house ten-15 times a day. I remember being stopped by a checkpiont every two or three miles just so some 18 year old ****er from Manchester or whereever could ask you where you were going........IN YOUR OWN COOUNTRY!! I remember local people been murdered by the Brits (many of them not in any organisation). I remember the British government colluding with loyalists and going into nationalist pubs and shooting all round them.

I remember all of that. Now in all seriousness, can you really blame the IRA for trying to break the north away from the Brits?

BlitzKrieg

We should not have to play down Irish identity just to show how "multicultural"

pretty sure this has little to do with showing how 'multicultural' we are. It was the same before the celtic tiger and its the same now.

the only icon i've noticed having a fall from grace was that i distinctly remember always seeing a pciture or statue of the virgin mary in most houses I was in as a kid (except my own which was wierd) and now they have mostly disapeared.

LadyJ

solskjaer20 wrote:

As you say, thats an opinion.

Ofcourse Jean McConville should never have been killed, it was an atrocity.

But you're seriously missing the point here. I'm 19...I missed the worst of the Troubles. By the time I was twelve or so, the majoirty of killing had stopped. But I still remember what it was like to have a gun pointed at me by a British soldier.....it was a daily occurence. In fact it was usually an hourly occurence. I remember the Brits walking past my house ten-15 times a day. I remember being stopped by a checkpiont every two or three miles just so some 18 year old ****er from Manchester or whereever could ask you where you were going........IN YOUR OWN COOUNTRY!! I remember local people been murdered by the Brits (many of them not in any organisation). I remember the British government colluding with loyalists and going into nationalist pubs and shooting all round them.

I remember all of that. Now in all seriousness, can you really blame the IRA for trying to break the north away from the Brits?

What about Omagh? What about the Real IRA?

Talk about passive aggressive like!

I mean,I'm not saying I can't understand the RA wanting to get rid of the Brits but why not just let the North move forward so there could be peace?

That's hardly believing in the flag either.

28064212

daveirl wrote:

This post has been deleted.

See my earlier post, quoted below for convenience

28064212 wrote:

In America they're ridiculous about their patriotism. Sure I'm proud to be Irish, but I really couldn't give a flying **** if someone wanted to burn the tricolour. Only this week, the House of Representatives passed a bill 286-130 that would amend the constitution so that flag-burning could be declared a crime. It then went to the Senate, which voted 66-34 for it, only a single vote short of the 2/3 majority needed. That's completely insane, and I'd far rather be countryless than live in a society like that.

Sleepy

We have an intelligent enough population for blind patriotism not to be the norm and the OP has a problem with this? :rolleyes:

solskjaer20

LadyJ wrote:

What about Omagh? What about the Real IRA?

Talk about passive aggressive like!

I mean,I'm not saying I can't understand the RA wanting to get rid of the Brits but why not just let the North move forward so there could be peace?

That's hardly believing in the flag either.

The RIRA arn't the PIRA.

zuma

Americans are a mish-mash of cultures from all around the world and have 3 unifying things in common.....the US Dollar, the Military and their Flag.

personially I think in Ireland we dont need to be constantly reminded about our place in the world...besides....we have EU flags ABSOLUTELY everywhere, in our pockets and on our cars

Mr.Nice Guy

solskjaer20 wrote:

I remember all of that. Now in all seriousness, can you really blame the IRA for trying to break the north away from the Brits?

Yes. The majority of people (who they claimed to be fighting for) didn't want them to fight. They didn't fight their 'war' in our name.

They have only now realised what the rest of us have known for decades - violence was never going to work.

All those people killed because PIRA were slow learners. It's a travesty.

Back on topic, I would like to see more schools flying Irish tricolours but I don't see the point in every garden having one.