Ireland Flag

The flag of Ireland has three equal sized vertical stripes. The left side is green, the middle is white, and the right side is orange. These are what colors are on the flag of Ireland.

There is no official meaning behind this flag of Ireland. Some individuals state that the green stripe symbolizes the Catholics, the orange stripe symbolizes the Protestants, and the white stripe represents the peace between them. Another theory of the coloring of the Irish flag is that the orange color represents the Protestants in Ulster and those that came from William the III who won against the Catholics in the battle of Boyne in 1600. This representation was included to try and create peace with the Protestants during the Irish independence movement. This is the meaning behind the Irish flag colors.

The Irish flag was enacted on December 29, 1937. The first known use of the flag of Ireland was by Irish nationalists soon after the French Revolution in 1848. After the Easter Rising of 1916, which was an outcry against British rule, the Irish flags tricolor became known as the national flag. In 1922, Ireland was divided into two states by Britain. An independent Irish state, called the Irish Free State, enacted Ireland’s flag and Northern Ireland chose to continue being ruled by Great Britain. The flags of Ireland remained the same when the Irish Republic was created on April18, 1949. Although Ireland’s flags were created in 1918, the last time it was modified was in 1937. The Irish based their Ireland flag on the French flag; therefore the French flag could be considered a blue Irish flag. Ireland flags can be flown both nationally and civilly by its citizens.

In 432, Saint Patrick brought in Christianity. In 1014, Brian Boru won against the Viking invaders. In 1171, Henry II of England captured Ireland. In 1649, Oliver Cromwell swiftly defeated an Irish rebellion. During the Easter Rising in 1916, Ireland declared its independence. The British Army came crashing down quickly on the rebellion that it led to an over whelming victory for Sinn Fein at the elections in 1918. The Anglo Irish treaty of 1921 divided Ireland in to the Irish Free State and the partition of Ireland. Arthur Griffith was the first Prime Minister. Civil war broke out in 1922 until 1923. In 1937 a brand new constitution announced the nation of Eire to be the entire island of Ireland. Eamon de Valera served as both Prime Minister and president on and off again. Ireland took no position in World War II. In 1973 Ireland became a part of the European Union.

Irish flag myspace backgrounds can be found on the internet.