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.
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| Saint Patrick's saltire and the Union Jack |
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| The Flag of Ulster |
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| The Ulster Banner |
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| The Four Provinces Flag of Ireland |
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The IRFU Flag
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By Carla Menares
