Flag of Ireland

The Irish national flag is also called 'The Tricolor', and is known as An Bhratach Náisiúnta in Irish. The flag has three equal sized vertical bands colored green, white and orange. The green color is displayed next to the staff, white is in the center, and orange last. The flag is rectangular in shape and its length is two times its width, translating into the ratio of 1:2, with each colored vertical band equal in size. In some flags, the orange is more golden in color, probably carried forth from the gold harp on the original Green Flag.

History
The flag of Ireland dates back some hundreds of years, and is known to represent different cultures, family clans and areas. The earlier green flag with the harp was an old symbol of Confederate Ireland in the 1640s, and was later adopted by the United Irishmen. In 1795, a rival protestant organization, the Orange Order, was founded in Northern Ireland, in memory of King William of Orange and the glorious 1689 revolution. The confederates and the Northern Irish were constantly at war with each other, until the mid-nineteenth century when the Nationalist Generation of Ireland intervened and proposed a united Ireland. The white color stands for peace between the green and orange flag bearers.

The tricolor never grew in prominence and stature, due to the ongoing disputes between the Confederates and the Northern Irish people. The green flag with the golden harp was considered as the principal national emblem, and green and gold were regarded as the national colors throughout the nineteenth century.

Emergence of the Tricolor
The tricolor was first used by Irish Nationalists in 1848 during the Young Irelanders' Rebellion. The symbolic value of bringing green, white, and orange together was first introduced by Thomas Francis Meagher, an Irish Nationalist and a Union Army general. While presenting the flag, he said "The white in the center signifies a lasting truce between the 'Orange' and the 'Green' and I trust that beneath its folds the hands of the Irish Protestant and the Irish Catholic may be clasped in heroic brotherhood." It became an emblem of the Young Ireland Movement.

The flag rose in prominence during the War of Independence between 1919-1921, which the Irish fought against the Britishers. Prior to that, it was once raised in 1916, above the General Post Office in Dublin during the Easter Rising. Since then, the Tricolor was widely used as a national flag.

Symbolic and Historical Values of the Colors

• Green - represented the Catholics and their long struggle for independence from the Britishers.
• Orange - represented the Protestants and was derived from William III of the House of Orange.
• White - represented peace between them.

The Constitution of 1937, Article 7 instituted "The National Flag, the Tricolor of Green, White and Orange", as the national emblem of Ireland. The Irish flag is hoisted atop all government and historical monuments, upholding symbolism of an all-inclusive and equal nation.