Ireland

The flag of Ireland is the national flag and ensign of the Republic of Ireland. Sometimes referred to as the Irish tricolour, the flag is a vertical tricolour consisting of the colours green, white and orange. The ratio of the Ireland flag is 1:2.

The flag was first presented as a gift to Irish nationalist Thomas Francis Meagher by a group of French women in 1848. The flag was originally intended to symbolise the inclusion and union between Roman Catholics and Protestants. The green in the Irish flag symbolises the Roman Catholic majority. The orange in the Irish flag represents the Protestant minority. The Protestant minority were supporters of William of Orange, hence the colour orange. The white between the green and orange symbolises peace and union between the Catholic and Protestant sections of Ireland.

The present day flag of Ireland was not regarded as the national flag until the Easter Rising of 1916. The flag was adopted by the Irish Republic during the Irish War of Independence (1919-1921) and was used by the Irish Free State (1922-1937) before being recognised in the Constitution of Ireland from 1937.

There are regulations surrounding the use of the national flag of Ireland. These include not allowing the flag to touch the ground, not flying other flags above it, not defacing the flag with logos or slogans of any kind, and not allowing the flag to become tattered or worn.

Irish flag