Flag of Ireland

The flag of Ireland was approved on December 29, 1937 and consists of three vertical stripes of equal width - green, white and orange in the appropriate sequence.

Meaning of the flag of Ireland

• The green color symbolizes Catholics;
• orange symbolizes Protestants; 
• white symbolizes hope for peace and unity.

How many flags are there in Ireland?

The official flag of Ireland for the Republic of Ireland is the tricolor. The official flag of Northern Ireland, as it is part of the United Kingdom, is the Union Jack (the official flag of the United Kingdom). However, many people in Northern Ireland use the Ulster flag (a white flag with a red cross and a hand in the center). It was the flag of the former Northern Ireland government and the common flag of Northern Ireland from 1953 until that government was abolished in 1973 with the passage of the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973.

A brief history of the origin of the Irish flag

Dr. Pat O'Callaghan became the first Irish citizen to win a gold medal in the hammer throw at the Amsterdam Olympics in July 1928. It was then that the Irish tricolor was raised for the first time. Article 6 of the 1937 Constitution establishes the official status of the national flag, which consists of three colors: green, white and orange. The Irish tricolor seeks to unite people from different cultures and traditions, which is now expressed in the Constitution as the right of every person born in Ireland to be part of the Irish nation, regardless of their ethnicity, religion or political beliefs. After the catastrophic events of World War II, Ireland joined the United Nations in 1955. Three years later, the colors of the Irish flag were first depicted on the flag when a small group of Irish defense forces went to Lebanon. 

Later, in 1960, soldiers who were part of the UN peacekeepers went to the Congo under the national flag. In December 1972, the Irish tricolor visited the moon aboard a spacecraft during the Apollo mission. In 2004, the first Irish tricolor was installed at the South Pole.

Today, at every sunrise and sunset, members of the Defence Forces raise and lower the national flag on the roofs of government buildings in a quiet, brief and extremely moving ceremony. After 100 years since the uprising, many ceremonies and events have taken place to celebrate the importance of the national flag in history and culture. On January 1, 2016, a program to commemorate the 100th anniversary of 1916 was launched.