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IRELAND MINI-SITE
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The
island of Ireland
is located in the western-most region of Europe and is divided
politically into two parts: Ireland (often referred to as the Republic
of Ireland), with its capital at Dublin, and Northern Ireland (part of
the UK), with its capital at Belfast.
Historically and geographically, Ireland was divided into thirty-two counties and those counties into four provinces: Ulster, Leinster, Munster and Connaught. Today, six of Ulster's nine counties are within Northern Ireland and the remainder of Ireland's counties are located within the Republic of Ireland. [more] The population of Ireland is approximately 5.6 million, with around 3.9 million living in the Republic and 1.7 million in Northern Ireland. |
NATIONAL FLAGS OF IRELAND
Cross of Saint Patrick |
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From
1783 to 1922, the usual flag used to symbolise Ireland officially was
known as "Saint Patrick's Cross". Today, it is occasionally used as a
neutral flag, for the representation of the island of Ireland and is
the basis for the new badge of the Police Force of Northern Ireland. In addition, it is used by the Celtic and Irish Cultural Society as the oldest flag to represent the people of Ireland and to avoid possible misrepresentation. |
(Republic of) Ireland
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The Irish
tri-colour (An Bhratach
Náisiúnta) is the official flag of the state of
Ireland as defined by the 1937 Irish Constitution, Article 7 that: "the
national flag is the tricolour of green, white and orange".
The green
represents the Irish from the Catholic tradition and the
orange that of the Protestant tradition. The white symbolises the
desire for a lasting peace between the two.
The flag was first
used by Irish nationalists in 1848 during the Young Irelanders'
rebellion, although the colours on the original flag were in reverse
order to the modern version.
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Northern Ireland
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 Ulster Flag NI Flag to 1972 |
The
Provincial Flag of Ulster represents the nine-county province of Ulster
and formed the basis for the flag adopted by the Northern Ireland
government. A variation to the red hand , a six-pointed star and the
addition of a crown on a white background completes the "Ulster
Banner". The "Ulster Banner" was the official flag of Northern Ireland but ceased to have official government sanction when the Parliament of Northern Ireland was dissolved in 1972. However, the flag is still used to represent Northern Ireland, perhaps controversially, at the Commonwealth Games and in UEFA football competitions. The idea of a new flag for Northern Ireland has been discussed from time to time but it has little popular support. Many unionists and loyalists do not wish to see Northern Ireland's links with Britain and the Crown undermined, whilst republicans do not recognise Northern Ireland as a viable separate entity, and therefore, see no reason for it to have any symbols. |
Saint Patrick and Ireland's National Holiday
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The National Holiday of
Ireland is March 17: St. Patrick’s Day - named after the Patron Saint
of Ireland.
St. Patrick was a Romanised Celt called Patricius, and the traditional dates for his mission to Ireland have been given as 431 AD to 461AD. March 17 was the date of his death. Although there were some scattered Christian communities in Ireland before his arrival, the impetus for the general change to Christianity throughout the land was due, in large part, to his work. There are two
particularly well known traditions associated with Saint Patrick.
The first is the belief that he banished the snakes from Ireland. This seems not to have originated until the 11th century and there are indications that this idea was suggested by the many accounts of how the saint banished the "demons of paganism" from Ireland. The second is the association of the shamrock with him. We are told that Patrick used the symbol of the trefoil stem of the shamrock to explain the Christian mystery of the Holy Trinity to the people, explaining that just as three leaves can spring from one stem so also are there three persons in one God. The current practice of wearing shamrock on Saint Patrick’s Day is hardly more than a few centuries old. [more] |
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