What is the Meaning of the Irish Flag Colors?
Ireland has a tumultuous history. It has long been closely connected to England, though in constant struggle for independence from it. There is continual conflict between Protestant Northern Ireland and the predominantly Catholic Republic of Ireland. As well, Ireland is an ancient society with strengths in art, education and poetry, but it is also a land of warriors. The flag of Ireland reflects some of these conflicts.
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The flag of Ireland is divided into three vertical stripes of equal size: green, white and orange.
Green
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The green stripe on the left of the flag is a traditional Celtic color, signifying Ireland's Celtic history.
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Orange
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The orange stripe on the right represents William of Orange, the Dutch prince who became King William III of England after the Catholic James II was deposed in the 17th century. A protestant who also ruled over Ireland, he still was viewed with tolerance by most of Ireland.
White
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The white stripe in the middle of the Irish flag represents the cooperation, or truce, between the historic Celtic tradition of Ireland and the English, protestant William of Orange.
History
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The Irish flag was designed by Thomas Francis Meagher in the mid-1800s, but was not adopted as the official flag of Ireland until 1919, during the Irish war for independence from Britain.
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Comments
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mdiehl
Jan 22, 2010
This article is false. There is no way any color in the Irish flag would represent an Engligh king. The colors in the flag have NO official significance. It is said that the green stands for the Catholics, the orange for the Protestant and the white is the hope for peace between the two.
