1

Vexillology Ireland: Brateolaíocht Éireann

VIBE Winter Newsletter 2016

Welcome to Vexillology Ireland’s Winter Newsletter!

Daffodils are blooming and winter is coming to an end (at least in

Ireland). It is therefore the perfect timing to publish our Winter

Newsletter. In light of the Centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising, the

Proclamation of the Irish Republic, and the acceptance of the Irish

tricolour by the public as a national symbol, there will be an emphasis

on the Irish flag and the events and history surrounding it - 10 pages to mark 100 years (1916-2016).

2016 Ireland - 1916 Rising Centenary

In 2016 Ireland is marking the centenary of the “1916 Easter Rising”

- an armed insurrection against British Rule in Ireland that began on

Easter Monday, 24 April 1916 and lasted for six days. Throughout

the year there will be events, ceremonies and programmes marking

the significance of the national flag in the historical and cultural

context of the centenary. Commemorations began on 1 January

with a flag raising ceremony at Dublin Castle.

Three flags were raised on the day in order to commemorate the three flags that were flown on O’Connell Street

during the 1916 Easter Rising - the “Starry Plough Banner” which was flown from the Imperial Hotel (Clerys) across

the road from the GPO and the “Irish Republic” flag along with the Irish tricolour that were both flown from the GPO.

The ceremony was attended by Ireland’s President Michael D Higgins, Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Enda Kenny, and

Tánaiste (Deputy Prime Minister) Joan Burton and ended with the playing of

the national anthem -"Amhrán na bhFiann" (The Soldier’s Song).

As part of the centenary programme Dublin City Council installed a temporary

flagpole on O’Connell Street opposite the GPO in January 2016 (photograph

on the right). It is funny to note that the Spire, Dublin’s largest monument

(121.2 m) which stands only a couple metres from this installation has no flag

flying from it, despite looking like a large flag pole. A daily flag raising

ceremony is taking place here every day at noon and sunset and is carried out

by two members of the Irish Defence Forces (Óglaigh na hÉireann). This will go

on until the 3 August, the day when Roger Casement, the last of the 1916

leaders was executed in Pentonville Prison in London.

Ireland Flag Day – 7 March 2016

Vexillology Ireland is still campaigning to make 7 March the “Irish Flag Day” in order to celebrate and commemorate,

on an annual basis, the first unfurling of the Irish tricolour in Waterford City by Thomas Francis Meagher on 7 March

1848 on his return from France where it was designed and made. There is a great focus on the national flag in this

year’s events which should strengthen the case for an annual “National Flag Day” in Ireland. Although the debate has

yet to reach the Oireachtas (Irish Parliament), there is however good news in other areas.

ISBN 2009-6437

Vol. 1 No. 3

2

The Thomas Francis Meagher (TMF) Foundation in partnership with An Taoiseach

(Prime Minister) and the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht is holding

a “Flag Presentation Ceremony” on 7 March 2016, at Croke Park (Ireland’s largest

stadium) in Dublin. Secondary schools are invited to attend the ceremony where

they will be given an Irish flag that has been flown at no.33, The Mall in Waterford

City (the place of the first flying of the Irish tricolour) along with a hand-carved flag

base and flagpole (picture on the right).

Thomas F Meagher Foundation and 2016 Flag Week

The Thomas Francis Meagher (TMF) Foundation was founded in 2015 “to promote

pride in and respect for the Irish flag and its meaning for peace, encouraging active

citizenship through schools, awards and scholarships”. The Awards and Scholarship

Programme was officially launched by the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins on 12 March 2015. The

Programme basically allows secondary school students to apply for third level scholarships in order to further their

studies at one of a number of higher education institutions in Ireland.

The “flagship” event of TFM Foundation will be the “2016 Flag Week” between 10 March and St. Patrick's Day on 17

March, during which secondary schools across Ireland will be invited to fly the Irish tricolour that they would have

received from the organisation. In addition, lapel flags, stickers, posters and supporting material provided with the

flag would be used by schools to fundraise for a local organisation of their choice – all under the Irish tricolour.

Schools are also asked to decorate their schools in green, white and orange, so the lead up to this year’s St. Patrick’s

Day promises to be brighter and more colourful than ever. It can therefore be said that “Flag Week 2016” will be

about “raising” the flag and money for a good cause. In other areas, while the Foundation has been involved with

secondary schools, the Irish Defences Forces have worked with primary schools across Ireland.

Irish Flags for Primary Schools Initiative

In order to commemorate the centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising

and the “Proclamation of the Irish Republic”, the Irish government

has tasked the Defence Forces (Óglaigh na hÉireann) to deliver a

national flag to every primary and special school in Ireland (over

3,200 schools) by March 2016. The delivery of the flag includes a

short ceremony that involves a reading and explanation of the

Proclamation and an outline of the history of the national flag and its protocols. Schools are asked to keep their flag

and raise it in a special ceremony and read the Proclamation of the Irish Republic on “Proclamation Day”, 15 March,

2016. We at Vexillology Ireland think that this has been a wonderful initiative and we thoroughly welcome it.

Milestones of the Irish National Flag

The story of the Irish national flag is closely interlinked with that of historical events. Therefore the history of the

Irish flag is the history of Ireland. The flag serves as a reference-point for events in Irish history and allows for a visual

point around which to orientate. Below are the major milestones in the history of the Irish tricolour.

1848 – First unveiled in Ireland. The flag was first flown from the Wolfe

Tone Confederate Club at no. 33, The Mall, in Waterford City by Thomas

Francis Meagher. He had received the flag as a present from Irish

sympathisers while on a trip to Paris to study the revolutionary events

taking place there. It must be noted that the orange was on the fly as to

give precedence to the Protestant side.

3

1915 – First verifiably used in a cause. Since 1848, the Irish tricolour was

used properly for the first time when it was draped over the coffin of

Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa, the famous Fenian leader. His funeral was of

great significance as it unified the republican movement and ultimately

led to the Easter Rising less than a year later.

1916 – First widely accepted as a national flag. Until 1916, the harp flag

held more importance than the tricolour. It was the events of the Easter

Rising, most notably the iconic image of the Irish tricolour flying over the GPO that confirmed the flag as an accepted

Irish national flag.

1919 – First officially adopted. On 21 January 1919, the first meeting of the Irish Parliament

(Dáil Éireann) took place in the Mansion House in Dublin where an independent Irish

Republic was declared and a Provisional Constitution along with the flag was adopted. Along

with that, the Irish War of Independence also began on this day and lasted until a truce was

agreed on 11 July 1921.

1922 – First internationally recognized. The flag was adopted as the national flag with the

establishment of the Irish Free State (Saorstát Éireann) on 6 December, 1922. When the

Constitution of the Irish Free State came into force on the same day, it made no mention of

the national flag although it was depicted on the front cover.

1937 – First constitutionally recognized. The present Constitution of Ireland (Bunreacht na hÉireann), the second

one since independence, came into force on 29 December 1937. In the constitution, Article 7 states that: “The

national flag is the tricolour of green, white and orange”.

As a matter if interest, the flag of the Netherlands was

also constitutionally recognized in the same year, despite

being originally used since the 16th century.

1955 – First wide international exposure. The Irish flag got its first wide international exposure when Ireland

eventually joined the UN on 14 December 1955, 10 years after the organisation was founded. Ireland applied to join

at the beginning but due to Cold War politics was denied membership by the Soviet Union who vetoed Ireland's

application in August 1946.

1990 – First great display of the tricolour in Ireland. Ireland made their World Cup debut at Italia 90 and even

managed to reach the quarter finals in a showdown against the host nation Italy. For the first time Irish tricolours

were flown by everyone and the island was a sea of flags. (More in the next article)

1998 – First great celebration of the tricolour. Celebrations marked the 150th anniversary of the unveiling of the

Irish tricolour in Waterford city by Thomas Francis Meagher. 1998 was also the year that the Good Friday Agreement

was signed and in an effort to foster peace and unity, the Irish government officially discouraged the use of

"unofficial flags" i.e. flags containing a golden stripe rather than an orange one.

2013 – First endorsement by Oireachtas of the flag protocol. In 2013 Seanad Éireann (Upper House) endorsed the

protocol governing the national Flag on the 165th anniversary of the displaying of the Irish Flag.

1990 FIFA World Cup - Italia ‘90

The 1990 World Cup in Italy signalled the birth of a new post-conflict Irish identity. International football collided

with the Irish identity as Ireland made their World Cup debut at Italia 90 and even managed to reach the quarter

finals in a showdown against the host nation Italy. For the first time Irish tricolours were flown by everyone and the

island was a sea of flags. The year 1990 saw a rise in nationalism and patriotism throughout Europe and Ireland was

no exception. For the first time Irish tricolours were flown and seen everywhere as there was a mass collective

4

excitement. There are many iconic pictures of the welcoming that the Irish football team received when returning

back to Ireland. It is interesting to note that in the “sea of tricolours”, three different types can be identified – one

featuring an orange stripe, a golden stripe and a red stripe. It does not take a genius to realise that the latter was the

Italian flag, but why the golden stripe?

Gold has always featured in Irish symbolism, most notably on the harp which is the reason why many have and still

use tricolours with gold stripes to this day. There is no problem in using gold to symbolise Ireland, there is a problem

however to use it on the tricolour. Orange and not gold is one of the official colours on the flag (written in Article 7

of the Constitution) and represents the Unionist/Protestant tradition in the north population. The use of gold on the

tricolour has for a long time been associated with separatism. The Irish government officially discourages the use of

"unofficial flags" since the Good Friday Agreement was signed in 1998 in an effort to foster peace and unity.

1966 Easter Rising Commemorations

The 50th Anniversary of the Easter Rising was celebrated on Easter Sunday, 10 April 1966. Dublin was a sea of flags

with tricolours and orange and green flags flying all over the city. There are 150 flag poles along both sides of the

river Liffey in Dublin which are placed in pairs. For this reason, white was not included and only the colours green

and orange were flown side by side, much like they were in 1830 for the welcoming of Daniel O’Connell.

The year was eventful in other ways as well - Nelson’s Pillar was blown up in March, a month before the

commemorations and the “Irish Republic” flag was returned by the British Government after having been stored at

the Imperial War Museum in London. It has been suggested that these commemorations led to the outbreak of “The

Troubles” in 1969 in Northern Ireland as it renewed an interest in physical violence. However research undertaken

by UCD and Queen’s University (2007) as part of a cross-border project have shown that this was not the case.

5

1916 “Irish Republic” Flag

On April 24, 1916, a flag with the inscription “Irish Republic” was hoisted alongside the Irish tricolour over

the General Post Office (GPO) in Dublin during the 1916 Easter Rising as a proclamation of the Irish Republic. The flag

was made by Mary Shannon at the headquarters of the Irish Citizen Army (ICA) in Liberty Hall. As was argued in our

book Flagging Ireland (2015): “Although it was a beautiful flag, the tricolour prevailed because flags by nature are

graphic symbols and that is where their strength lies”.

A guest staying in the Metropole Hotel took a rare photograph of the flag flying on the south-eastern corner of the

GPO, where there is now a Penneys (Primark). The flag miraculously flew during the days of fighting and even

survived the bombardment and the fire that destroyed the GPO. It was most likely removed by British troops after

the rebel’s surrender on Sunday, 30 April. There are two photographs of British soldiers holding the flag upside down

as war trophies at the base of Parnell monument on O’Connell Street in Dublin which can be seen above.

After the events, the flag was placed in the Imperial War

Museum in London. In 1966 it was presented to the Irish

government on the 50th Anniversary of the Rising by the British

government. Since then it has been on display at the National

Museum of Ireland – Decorative Arts and History

(Collins Barracks). The flag features a green field with the

inscription "Irish Republic" written in white and yellow (gold)

letters in the form of Gaelic script. It measures 4 feet 3 inches

by 5 feet 6 inches and has partial damage.

As a matter of interest, on 3 June 2015, members of the 1916 Societies reenacted the raising of the flags over the

GPO by raising the Irish Republic flag along with the Irish tricolour over the Northern Ireland Assembly buildings at

Stormont in Belfast. This act was of course met with anger from the Unionists and was highly condemned.

1916 Irish Tricolour

Sean MacDiarmada, secretary of the Irish Republican

Brotherhood was responsible for making the tricolour that flew

over the GPO in 1916. When the tricolour was delivered to the

GPO on 24 April 1916, it was discovered that the colours were

arranged in the wrong way and so the flag had to be quickly

unstitched and the colours rearranged. When the GPO was captured by British troops, the tricolour was taken by

Sergeant Tommy Davis of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers. Three months after the Rising he returned back home to

6

Lisburn, Co. Antrim where he was looked after by his doctor. Upon his death in 1922 he passed the flag to him who

in turn gave it to his son-in-law, Captain Samuel Waring. After that in 1951, the flag was passed on to the family of

John Sweetman, an Irish nationalist and co-founder of Sinn Féin. The tricolour was put up for auction in 2010 at a

price between €500-700,000 but did not sell. In 2011 it was given on loan to the American Irish Historical Society

(AIHS). It is currently still on loan and will play a vital role in the American commemorations of the Centenary this

year. The flag is made of Irish linen and measures 74 x 159cm.

1848 – Year of Flags and Revolutions

On a visit to study the revolutionary events in France after the “February Revolution” in 1848, Thomas Francis

Meagher returned to Ireland with the tricolour that had been given to him by French women who were sympathetic

to the Irish cause. He first flew the flag from the “Wolfe Tone Confederate Club” at no. 33, The Mall, in Waterford

City. Today commemorative Plaques can be found on the building, including one of Thomas himself (photographs

below). Here is a short story of the man who is credited with the Irish flag:

On 29 July 1848, spurred on by the February Revolution and the Irish Famine, Meagher took part in the failed “Young

Irelander Rebellion” in Ballingarry, Co Tipperary. He was subsequently arrested, tried for high treason and originally

sentenced to death but then sent for life to Van Dieman’s Land (Tasmania). In 1952 he escaped to America, taking

part in the American Civil war and becoming a US army General in the Irish 69th Infantry Regiment (New York).

Afterwards he became the first Governor of Montana and is today hailed as a hero by both the state of Montana and

the US. In 1963, when John F. Kennedy visited Ireland, he presented the Dáil (Irish Lower House) during his speech,

the restored second battle flag of the 69th New York Regiment.

Apart from Ireland, did you know that other European countries also first unveiled their flags in 1848? The Year of

Revolutions brought a lot of new flags on the scene. A large number of national flags were first flown, used in a

cause or adopted in 1848. It is important to remember that flags are not people - they do not have an exact

“birthday” that we can go by. Take the Irish flag as an example, in 1848 the idea of an Irish tricolour was not new and

there are mentions of them in 1830 and 1844, however it was in 1848 that the flag was properly introduced and

recognised. Therefore the year 1848 can be seen as not the “birth” of many European flags, but rather as an

important milestone in their development. Here is a list of other European nations to whom 1848 is also important:

Germany – The German flag gained prominence in the 1848 amongst revolutionaries all across the German-speaking

lands. The flag was first adopted on 9 March 1848 by Germany’s first freely elected parliament - the Frankfurt

Parliament. By 1850 attempts at unifying the German lands failed and so did the parliament, consequently the flag

fell out of use until 1919 when it was readopted with the establishment of the Weimar Republic. After the Second

World War it was readopted again on 23 May 1949, just over 100 years after the original adoption.

Slovakia – The first Slovak flags appeared in 1848 with different variations. Initially there were only two colours –

white and red, but by August 1848 blue was added in honour of the Russian and Croatian flags. Russia was seen as

7

the protector of the Slavs and Croatia as the sister nation inside of Hungary. Slovakia adopted the Hungarian coat of

arms but replaced the green with blue. This was symbolic of the fact that the Slovaks fought on the side of Austria in

the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 as they wished to be separate from Hungary but still within the Austrian Empire.

Hungary – The Hungarian flag was first used during the Hungarian Revolution of 1848. The pattern was based on the

French Tricolore while the colours derive from the coat of arms which dates back centuries. The red, white and

green Hungarian flag has remained essentially unchanged since 1848, apart from the

different coat of arms that have been placed on it. The current flag was adopted on 1

October 1957, a year after the failed Hungarian Revolution of 1956.

Ukraine – The flag of Ukraine was first flown in 1848 over the town hall (Rathaus) in

the western town of Lviv, when it was known by its German name “Lemberg” and was

part of the Austrian province of Galicia. The colours are believed to have derived from

the coat of arms of Lviv which features a golden lion on a blue field and dates back to

the 13th century. A banner of the arms was adopted by the first Ukrainian political

organization, the Supreme Ruthenian Council (Головна Руська рада) in 1848.

Romania – The Romanian flag gained prominence during the Revolution and was first

adopted on 26 June 1848. The pattern was based on the French Tricolore while the

colours were taken from the arms of the principalities of Moldavia (red and blue) and

Walachia (red and yellow) – the two provinces that made up Romania in the Ottoman

Empire. For a number of years a horizontal tricolour was used until 1866 when a new constitution came into effect

which reinstated the original flag and defined it. The current form was adopted on 27 December 1989.

Luxembourg - The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg was created at the Congress of Vienna in 1815 and was brought into

personal union with the Netherlands until 1890. Despite the Dutch connection, the Luxembourgian flag was not

based on the Dutch flag, but rather on the coat of arms of the Dukes of Luxembourg that dates back to the 13th

century. Before 1830 Luxembourg did not have a flag. In 1848 it was first defined as a

horizontal tricolour of red, white and blue but was not officially adopted until 1972

along with the “Civil Ensign”.

Slovenia - The Slovenian flag was first flown from 8 Wolf Street (Wolfova Ulica) in

Ljubljana on 7 April 1848 by Slovene nationalist and poet Lovro Toman as a response

to the flying of the German flag over Ljubljana Castle (picture on the left). The flag was

a simple tricolour and used the Pan-Slavic colours of white, blue and red - like the

Russian flag. However, the colours originated from the coat of arms of the Duchy of

Carniola (Vojvodina Kranjska) that dates back to the 13th century. 7 April is now

celebrated as the national flag day of Slovenia every year.

Switzerland – The Swiss flag was confirmed when Switzerland became a federal state

on 12 September 1848, as the federal constitution was adopted. This was done

following the 1847 Swiss Civil War (Sonderbundskrieg) when the Swiss army saw its last fighting. Although the

constitution did not name a national flag, it did prescribe the Swiss flag for troops in federal service. The flag was

officially adopted on 12 December 1889, the same year as Brazil’s flag.

The Irish Flag, the Easter Rising and Europe

The Irish flag is of European extraction – having been brought over from France and based on the French tricolour

pattern, with the same 1:2 proportions as the British flag and the colour orange coming originally from the

Netherlands. Despite these European origins, most people in Ireland do not see the European links.

8

As an island we can sometimes suffer from

an insular view of our history. We forget

about the events that have occurred in

Europe and fail to realise how they are

directly connected to us. Any major

events in Irish history have usually

coincided with wider European conflicts -

Battle of the Boyne in 1690, the Young

Irelander Rebellion 1848 and the Easter

Rising in 1916. The Irish tricolour was first

unveiled during the “Year of Revolutions”

in Europe and became accepted as a unifying Irish flag during the European-centered “Great War”. 1848 and 1915

are important dates in European history, not only Irish history. Apart from Ireland, many other European countries

introduced or adopted flags in 1848, such as Germany, Luxembourg, Hungary, Romania, Ukraine, Slovenia and

Slovakia. The Irish tricolour was first used in a cause in 1915 when it was draped over the coffin of Jeremiah

O'Donovan Rossa. His funeral was of great significance as it unified the republican movement and ultimately led to

the Easter Rising less than a year later. 1915 was also the year when King George V gave permission to British

citizens to fly the Union Jack on land because as the name suggests, the flag was originally adopted as a maritime

flag.

The Easter Rising helped Ireland to gain its eventual independence but it also

facilitated in dividing it, in more ways than one. The centenary of the Easter

Rising provides the perfect moment to rid the Irish tricolour of any baggage that

has still remained. The occasion allows for much needed reconciliation and

healing of divisions, both south and north of the border. In Northern Ireland the

year 1916 has always had two different associations – for Unionists it is the Battle

of the Somme and for Republicans it is the Easter Rising. Even in the Republic of

Ireland many view the War as separate from the Rising, something that impedes

proper understanding of events.

The First World War led to the collapse of four monarchies – Russian, German,

Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman. Ireland’s eventual independence from an Empire

was not a lone European case. Starting next year and continuing into the

following year, European countries will be marking their own centenaries and the 100 years since the collapse of

imposed monarchical and imperial rule. Ireland has its own history but it is not much different to the history of other

European nations. In light of the “Brexit Referendum” in the United Kingdom, it would do Ireland a lot of good to

embrace the European identity and see its wider role and participation in European history. Ireland is European and

always has been, despite what some people on this island and the neighbouring one like to think.

New Zealand Flag Talk

The New Zealand Ireland Association recently

held its 30th annual “Waitangi dinner”. In light

of the New Zealand flag debate, the

organisation invited CEO of Vexillology Ireland,

Stan Zamyatin to give a talk on flags and the

upcoming second flag referendum (3-24 March

2016). His talk provided an opportunity for the

audience to reflect on the upcoming flag referendum in NZ and what it means to the country and the individuals.

9

The dinner saw over 50 members of the Kiwi community in Ireland gather at the Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel in Killiney,

Dublin on 6 February to celebrate New Zealand’s National Day – Waitangi Day. The day commemorates the first

signing of New Zealand's founding document – the Treaty at Waitangi (Te Tiriti o Waitangi) in 1840 which made the

area officially a British colony. Following the signing of the treaty, the Union Jack replaced the flag of the United

Tribes of New Zealand as the official flag of New Zealand. The current national flag of New Zealand was designed in

1869 and used on colonial ships, after the “Colonial Naval Defence Act of 1865”, which said that all ships owned by a

colonial government must fly the “Blue Ensign” with the badge of the colony on it. Although it was officially adopted

on 24 March 1902, the British flag was still used quite commonly until the 1950’s, after the country became fully

independent in 1947.

The first call for a new national New Zealand flag came in 1979 with the National MP and Minister of Internal Affairs,

Allan Highet. In 2014 the Prime Minsiter John Key announced that there would be two flag referendums, one of

which has already taken place last year. Between 3 and 24 March 2016, New Zealanders will be asked to vote to

either change the flag to the “Blue Silver Fern” flag or keep the status quo. Here is of Vexillology Ireland’s list of ‘for’

and ‘against’ arguments for changing the flag:

Arguments For: The national flag is a relic of the colonial past and does

not represent the new independent and diverse New Zealand, this is

why there should be a new flag in order to reflect this new reality. The

people who fought and died for New Zealand, died for their country and

not the flag. Those servicemen and women are buried in cemeteries

across the world with the silver fern engraved on their headstones, not

the national flag. There cannot be much pride in having another

nation’s flag on your own, especially when that flag looks very similar to the flag of your neighbour. The Australian

and Kiwi flags get constantly mixed up and it is the smaller nation of New Zealand that is usually the victim of the mix

up. The country needs a flag that is unique, creative and automatically recognised by people all around the world. 26

million dollars have been spent but that has been due to the democratic process of postal voting which has allowed

the public to have the decision rather than the parliament. This is an opportunity that must not be wasted or lost.

Arguments Against: Changing the national flag is a big deal, especially

for New Zealand because many other emblems use versions of the

national flag. Therefore if the New Zealand flag is changed, then the

Naval, Civil, Air Force and Civil Air Ensigns would also have to be

changed as they use the national flag as a template. In addition, the

national coat of arms would also have to be changed as the female

supporter holds up the current national flag. The flag might look similar

to the Australian flag, but this is simply a reflection of the friendship and shared history between the two nations,

this is also why there is no problem in having the Union Jack on the flag- as it acknowledges our colonial past and our

present connection to the British monarchy. Around 29,000 New Zealanders have died in battles under the flag since

WW I, by changing the flag you are disrespecting the sacrifice they made. From the beginning, there was never much

support for changing the flag, therefore these two flag referendums have been a waste of time and money.

New Northern Ireland Flag Report

Our friend Dominic Bryan from Queen’s Institute of Irish Studies in Belfast, along with his colleague Paul Nolan has

recently launched a new report entitled “Flags: Towards a New Understanding” (17 February 2016). The report

provides a set of guidelines that is hoped will give a framework for groups trying to agree on how to display flags in

their local areas. The report recommends that flags only be flown to mark important events such as 12 July for

Unionists and St. Patrick’s Day for Republicans. Consent should be given by community members before any flags

can go up in the area and any “unofficially flags” should stay up for no more than two weeks. In addition, the report

10

believes that the Union Jack should only be flown from council buildings on the

designated 18 days during the year, like the rest of the UK.

In an interview with Ireland’s main broadcaster RTE, this is what Dominic had to

say: “The key to what we are recommending is that people have the right to

express their political identity and that is very important. However, equally

important is to treat flags and emblems with respect and at the moment in

Northern Ireland flags and emblems are not treated with respect. They either go

tatty or dirty on lampposts or they’re burned on bonfires and we would like to

see real political effort from a whole load of political organisations to try and get

treating symbols with respect at the core of what we do”.

Creating peace and understanding when it comes to flag flying is not only a social

and cultural incentive, but also a financial one. After Belfast City Council voted to

limit the flying of the Union Jack on top of City Hall in 2012, mass protests

erupted which cost a total of £21.9 million for policing. On the second anniversary of the vote on 3 December 2014,

Dominic co-published a report “The Flag Dispute - Anatomy of a Protest” (co-funded by the Irish Department of

Foreign Affairs and Trade) which looked at the origins of the protest and the way in which it developed. The report

found that a pamphlet distributed 40,000 times by DUP and the UUP warning about the limiting of flag flying days

had a profound effect on the protests and only inflamed unionist and loyalist anger.

It would in the interest of everyone if both sides of the political divide learn to respect each other’s emblems, even if

they go against one another. Vexillology Ireland promotes peace and reconciliation between both sides and

advocates for mutual respect for flags and emblems, even if that means the flying of less flags.

Flagging Ireland Still on Sale

There are still some copies left of our publication ‘Flagging Ireland’ (August 2015).

The 52-page full colour publication was edited by Stan Zamyatin and includes

contributions by vexillologists such as Graham Bartram, Philip Tibbetts, Ted Kaye

and Charles A. Spain, Jr. Like so many of the Society’s other initiatives, this is

Ireland’s first guidebook on flags. It explores the cultural meaning and heritage

associated with flags and emblems in Ireland, north and south. The price of the

book is €10 + €2 p&p. Make sure you get a from familyhistory.ie

VIBE Spring Newsletter 2016

The VIBE Spring Newsletter will be out in April/May 2016. If you would like to write a short piece on something

related to flags, please send an email to bratachaeire@gmail.com. Go raibh míle maith agaibh!

Further Contact Email: bratachaeire@gmail.com

Address: Genealogical Society of Ireland, 11, Desmond

Avenue, Dún Laoghaire, Co. Dublin, Ireland. A96 AD76

Vexillology Ireland : Brateolaíocht Éireann Heraldry Ireland : Araltas Éireann

Website: https://flagsireland.wordpress.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Flags.Ireland

Twitter: https://twitter.com/flagsireland

Website: http://heraldryireland.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Heraldry.Ireland/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HeraldryIreland