Northern Ireland flags issue
St Andrew's Cross is the traditional flag of Scotland, and is one of the flags which makes up the Union Flag. It is used by some Loyalists in Northern Ireland to highlight their Scottish ancestry and even today the Protestant people within Northern Ireland have strong links with Scotland. St Andrew was one of the disciples of Jesus Christ and the flag is said to have been inspired by a white cross of cloud appearing on a blue sky to a Scottish King preparing for battle.
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Possible replacements
As there is currently no unique official flag for Northern Ireland, there have been various suggestions about what should be done. Apart from reusing an existing flag (such as the Cross of St Patrick), various new designs have been created.
This flag was being considered by the UK Government in the late 1990s and was leaked to BBC News[10]. It was never officially proposed. It is essentially the old NI Government Flag with the crown removed and some yellow taken from the Province of Ulster Flag.
When this flag was shown by journalists to various people around Belfast, the reaction was mainly unfavourable. Although some liked its inclusive nature, many responses were along the lines of "We already have a flag, it's the Union Jack" or "We already have a flag, it's the Tricolour".
This was a later design from the Flag Institute in 1998 shortly after the Good Friday Agreement, and again reaction was muted. The design attempted to hark back to the ancient flags of Ulster and the origins of the two communities. It retains the gold and red cross arms of the de Burgh Earls of Ulster and ancient symbol of the Red Hand of Neil, which appears on both the flags of loyalists and republicans. The six pointed star was dropped for being "too loyalist" for the republican community. The white fimbration (or edge) to the cross was included for two reasons, one to reflect the Norse heritage of Ulster and secondly to echo the Union flag. This was to balance the use of a gold background on the Provincial Ulster Flag and the white background of the Ulster Banner.
This flag is a hybrid between the St. Patrick's Cross and the Ulster Banner. It adds the Red Hand of Ulster and the six-pointed star to the St. Patrick's Flag, but does not add the crown and dispenses with the St. Georges' Cross found on the Ulster Banner.
In 2003, the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland, one of the two Assembly Parties (the other being the Greens) which claim to represent both Nationalists and Unionists, came up with a few suggestions. One showed a flax flower, another a few steps from the Giant's Causeway and another (pictured, to left), a map of Northern Ireland (compare with the Korean Unification Flag).
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References
- ^ http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/adhocs/flags/flags.pdf
- ^ Encyclopaedia Britannica says: According to British tradition, a coat of arms or flag is granted to the government of a territory, not to the people residing there
- ^ Castlereagh Borough Council, Northern Ireland
- ^ FIFA website
- ^ http://www.commonwealthgames.com/ Commonwealth Games website. Choose "Northern Ireland" from the "Countries" menu.
- ^ history of the union jack
- ^ St Patrick's Flag
- ^ "Paddy's Day Belfast Bash" from Everything Ulster, 17 March 2006
- ^ Cross Of St Patrick
- ^ BBC Inside Ulster Report circa 1995
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See also
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External links
- Symbols in Northern Ireland - Flags Used in the Region by Dara Mulhern and Martin Melaugh; illustrated article from CAIN Project (Conflict Archive on the INternet)
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