The Flag of Ireland
The flag of Ireland (known as “Tricolour”) is a vertical tricolor , starting with green at the hoist, followed by white and orange.
A history and a legend
The oldest reference to using the three colors dates back to from September 1830, when tricolor cockades were worn at a meeting held to celebrate the French Revolution of that year. In the same period, the colors were used on the banners of trade guilds.
Historical facts said that the flag was presented as a gift to Thomas Francis Meagher in 1848, from a group of French women. But it wasn’t regarded as a national flag until 1916, at the Easter Rising – an insurrection staged during the Easter Week – , when it was raised above the General Post Office in Dublin.
A legend says that the similarly-colored Newfoundland Tricolour is credited as being created in 1843. However, this is unlikely.
It was adopted as a national flag in 1919 during the war of independence. It wasn’t until 1937 that it was given Constitutional status.
The symbolism
The meaning of the flag is not covered by the Constitution, the Government said that green represents the Gaelic tradition , the white represents the peace and orange stands the followers of William of Orange in Ireland.
Hence, the green represents the Irish republicanism , while the orange represents the minority who were supporters of King William III and his Irish Catholic army. The white in the middle presents the lasting truce between the two cultures.
As a whole, the flag symbolizes the inclusion and hoped-for union of the people of different traditions on the island of Ireland.