The struggle for a flag

When I think about a country, one of the first things that it comes to my mind is the flag, but when the conflicts go beyond religion and political perspectives, even this symbol becomes a subject of discussion.

While I was searching some information for Ireland’s map, I realized that Northern Ireland is the only one constituent country of the United Kingdom that doesn’t have its own flag. My confusion got bigger when I found out the many different flags that can be used.

Saint Patrick’s saltire was representative of the Kingdom of Ireland, but when it was divided, the Republic of Ireland adopted The Tricolour and started to use the flag of Ulster to represent the north province. In 1953, the Government of Northern Ireland stablished the Ulster Banner as the official flag, but in 1973 the parliament was abolished and so it was the flag. Since then, the ‘’Union Jack’’ has been the official emblem. Nowadays, the Ulster Banner represents Unionists (Protestants), but Republicans (Catholics) prefer the flag of the Ulster Province. 

Although the differences, I found out that the red hand of Ulster, which represents the bloody hand of a member of the O’Neill family, it seems to be the one who symbolizes Northern Ireland without any complaint, because it’s the result of an ancient legend about how a man became king.

Something that caught my attention was the fact that even the sports have been affected by this confusion, for example, the national football team uses the Ulster Banner, but the rugby team shows the Four Provinces Flag or the IRFU Flag.

So, what flag should I use to represent this country without being rude to anyone? This disagreement has caused street protests, fights and even more polarization.

Saint Patrick's saltire and the Union Jack

The Flag of Ulster

 The Ulster Banner

 The Four Provinces Flag of Ireland

The IRFU Flag

By Carla Menares

The official animal of Scotland – Where myth collides with reality.

In my research of general information about Scotland I found out that their official animal is the unicorn. I know it’s hard to believe at first and it’r certainly not a common choice considering that is one of the main figures on the Royal Coat of Arms of the country. But as every fun fact there is an explication.

The lion and the unicorn are heraldic symbols appearing in the full Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom, where the lion represent England and the unicorn represent Scotland. In Celtic mythology the unicorn symbolizes purity, healing power, joy and masculinity meanwhile the lion represent courage, royalty, leadership and honor.

This combination dates from 1603 after the dead of Queen Elizabethh I and according previous arrangements made by the Privy Council, James was proclaimed King of Scotland. He was the son of Mary, Queen of Scot, and great-great-grandson of Henry VII, King of Englad and Lord of Ireland witch gave him the uniquely opportunity to eventually accede to all three thrones. James I combined the unicorn with the lion on the coat of arms but still used a different version of his Royal Arms only in Scotland and this distinction in Royal protocol continued post the Acts of Union of 1707. This was a powerful symbol as it was regarded that the lion and unicorn were mortal enemies.

Scotland is not the only country who has a mythical creature as it official animal, but I notice that we are so used to think ‘rationally’ that we found hard to believe that this facts are real and sometimes we even laugh about them.

What is socially accepted as real and what is not? 

Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom used in Scotland

Rayen Moran.