Ireland’s distinctive green, white, and orange flag is one of the most recognized in the world. First seen in 1848, it was officially adopted by the Republic of Ireland in 1921 and again in 1937. Every flag has a meaning and a story behind it, so why did the Irish people choose this particular pattern? 

The Irish tricolor flag is similar to France’s tricolor for a reason. In 1848, a revolution in France briefly overthrew its monarchy to form its Second Republic. Irish revolutionaries like Thomas Francis Meagher visited Paris to celebrate its new government. According to some versions of the story, Meagher received the Irish flag as a gift from sympathetic French seamstresses. Others believe he commissioned the flag from his own designs. Whatever the case may be, the Irish tricolor soon made its way back to Dublin. 

So why green, white, and orange? Green represents the Emerald Isle’s majority-Catholic population. On the other side is the orange, representing Irish and English Protestants. The band of white in the middle encourages peace between both factions. 

The tricolor flag won out over other classic symbols like the Irish harp, which adorned green battle flags from the 1500s to the Easter Rising of 1916. The modern Irish flag flies today as a symbol of national unity in Ireland, despite the historical religious differences of its people. 

WC: 268

Sources: 

The Green Flag: A History of Irish Nationalism

Kee, Robert. The Green Flag: A History of Irish Nationalism. London: Penguin Books, 2001.

A Brief History of Ireland, pp. 256

State, Paul F. A Brief History of Ireland. New York, NY: Facts On File, 2009.

Thomas Francis Meagher: Irish Rebel, American Yankee, Montana Pioneer, pp. 37-38

Forney, Gary R. Thomas Francis Meagher: Irish Rebel, American Yankee, Montana Pioneer. Philadelphia, PA: Xlibris, 2003.

Category: Public, Shared Experiences

Topic: Historical Events

Time: 1840s to Modern

Place: Ireland