A national flag is a flag that represents and symbolizes a given nation. It is flown by the government of that nation, but can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanings for its colours and symbols, which may also be used separately from the flag as a symbol of the nation. The design of a national flag is sometimes altered after the occurrence of important historical events. The burning or destruction of a national flag is a greatly symbolic act.
Ulster is one of the four traditional or historic Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland ; the remaining three are in the Republic of Ireland. It is the northernmost province of Ireland.
The Union Jack or Union Flag is the de facto national flag of the United Kingdom. The Union Flag was also used as the official flag of several British colonies and dominions before they adopted their own national flags. The flag continues to have official status in Canada, by parliamentary resolution, where it is known as the Royal Union Flag.
A shamrock is a type of clover, used as a symbol of Ireland. Saint Patrick, one of Ireland's patron saints, is said to have used it as a metaphor for the Christian Holy Trinity. The name shamrock comes from Irish seamróg, which is the diminutive of the Irish word seamair and simply means "young clover".
The flag of Scotland is the national flag of Scotland, which consists of a white saltire defacing a blue field. The Saltire, rather than the Royal Standard of Scotland, is the correct flag for all private individuals and corporate bodies to fly. It is also, where possible, flown from Scottish Government buildings every day from 8:00 am until sunset, with certain exceptions.
The only official flag for Northern Ireland is the Union Flag or Union Jack, the flag of the United Kingdom; there is no official local flag that represents only Northern Ireland. The flying of various flags in Northern Ireland is a significant sectarian issue, with different communities identifying with different flags.
The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) is the body managing rugby union in the island of Ireland. The IRFU has its head office at 10/12 Lansdowne Road and home ground at Aviva Stadium, where adult men's Irish rugby union international matches are played. In addition, the Union also owns the Ravenhill Stadium in Belfast, Thomond Park in Limerick and a number of grounds in provincial areas that have been rented to clubs.
The flag of Jersey is composed of a red saltire on a white field. In the upper quadrant the badge of Jersey surmounted by a yellow "Plantagenet crown". The flag was adopted by the States of Jersey on 12 June 1979, proclaimed by Queen Elizabeth II on 10 December 1980 and first officially hoisted on 7 April 1981.
The White Ensign, at one time called the St George's Ensign because of the simultaneous existence of a crossless version of the flag, is an ensign worn on British Royal Navy ships and shore establishments. It consists of a red St George's Cross on a white field, identical to the flag of England except with the Union Flag in the upper canton.
Erin go Bragh, sometimes Erin go Braugh, is the anglicisation of an Irish language phrase, Éirinn go Brách, and is used to express allegiance to Ireland. It is most often translated as "Ireland Forever."
The coat of arms of Ireland is blazoned as Azure a harp Or, stringed Argent. These arms have long been Ireland's heraldic emblem. References to them as being the arms of the king of Ireland can be found as early as the 13th century. These arms were adopted by Henry VIII of England when he ended the period of Lordship of Ireland and declared Ireland to be a kingdom again in 1541. When the crowns of England, Scotland and Ireland were united in 1603, they were integrated into the unified royal coat of arms of kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland. The harp was adopted as the emblem of the Irish Free State when it separated from the United Kingdom in 1922. They were registered as the arms of Ireland with the Chief Herald of Ireland on 9 November 1945.
The flag of Ulster is a banner based on the coat of arms of Ulster, used to represent Ulster, one of the four provinces of Ireland. It consists of a red cross on a gold background with a red hand on a white shield in the centre.
The Northern Ireland flags issue is one that divides the population along sectarian lines. Depending on political allegiance, people identify with differing flags and symbols, some of which have, or have had, official status in Northern Ireland.
The Newfoundland Tricolour, or the Pink, White and Green, is an unofficial flag seen in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, and is mistakenly believed to have been an official Flag of Newfoundland and Labrador, or more commonly, of the island of Newfoundland specifically.
Saint Patrick's Saltire or Saint Patrick's Cross is a red saltire on a white field. In heraldic language, it may be blazoned argent, a saltire gules. Saint Patrick's Flag is a flag composed of Saint Patrick's Saltire. The origin of the saltire is disputed. Its association with Saint Patrick dates from the 1780s, when the Anglo-Irish Order of Saint Patrick adopted it as an emblem. This was a British chivalric order established in 1783 by George III. It has been suggested that it derives from the arms of the powerful Geraldine or FitzGerald dynasty. Some Irish nationalists and others reject its use to represent Ireland as a "British invention" "for a people who had never used it".
The first evidence of human presence in Ireland dates to around 33,000 years ago, with further findings dating the presence of homo sapiens to around 10,500 to 7,000 BCE. The receding of the ice after the Younger Dryas cold phase of the Quaternary, around 9700 BCE, heralds the beginning of Prehistoric Ireland, which includes the archaeological periods known as the Mesolithic, the Neolithic from about 4000 BCE, and the Copper Age beginning around 2500 BCE with the arrival of the Beaker Culture. The Irish Bronze Age proper begins around 2000 BCE and ends with the arrival of the Iron Age of the Celtic Hallstatt culture, beginning about 600 BCE. The subsequent La Tène culture brought new styles and practices by 300 BCE.
The national flag of Ireland, frequently referred to in Ireland as 'the tricolour' and elsewhere as the Irish tricolour is a vertical tricolour of green, white and orange. The proportions of the flag are 1:2.
Symbols of Ireland are marks, images, or objects that represent Ireland. Because Ireland was not partitioned until 1922, many of the symbols of Ireland predate the division into Southern Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Saint Patrick's Saltire
