what do the colors in the ireland flag mean
Flag of Ireland The green pale of the flag symbolises Roman Catholics, the orange represents the minority Protestants who were supporters of William of Orange, who had defeated King James II and his predominantly Irish Catholic army[14] at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.[15] His title came from the Principality of Orange in the south of France that had been a Protestant bastion from the 16th century. It was included in the Irish flag in an attempt to reconcile the Orange Order in Ireland with the Irish independence movement.[citation needed] The white in the centre signifies a lasting peace and hope for union between Protestants and Catholics in Ireland.[16] The flag, as a whole, is intended to symbolise the inclusion and hoped-for union of the people of different traditions on the island of Ireland, which is expressed in the Constitution as the entitlement of every person born in Ireland to be part of the independent Irish nation, regardless of ethnic origin, religion or political conviction.[17][18] There are exceptions to the general beneficent theory. Green was also used as the colour of such Irish bodies as the mainly-Protestant and non-sectarian Friendly Brothers of St. Patrick, established in 1751.
St. Patrick's blue The Irish arms used by English monarchs since Edward IV had an azure field; originally the device was three crowns (now the arms of Munster) until Henry VIII changed it to a harp. This is still the arms of the modern Irish state, and also appears in the lower left quarter of the Royal Standard of the United Kingdom.[13] In Irish mythology, Flaitheas Ã‰ireann, the sovereignty of Ireland, was sometimes represented as a woman in a blue robe.[14] Although the arms of the province of Mide has a blue field, when its device was used as the arms of Ireland, the field was sable.[14] The Irish College in Paris, completed in 1776,[15] was renovated in 2002; the paint uncovered on the chapel walls was described as "St Patrick's blue" by a visiting journalist.[16] As regards green in association with Patrick: in 1681, Thomas Dineley reported people wearing crosses of green ribbon in their hats on Saint Patrick's Day.[17]
Flag of Ireland The national flag of Ireland (Irish: bratach na hÉireann) – frequently referred to as the Irish tricolour (trídhathach na hÉireann) – is the national flag and ensign of the Republic of Ireland. The flag itself is a vertical tricolour of green (at the hoist), white and orange.[1][2] The proportions of the flag are 1:2 (that is to say, flown horizontally, the flag is half as high as it is wide).
Union Jack The Union Jack,[note 1][2][3] or Union Flag, is the national flag of the United Kingdom. The flag also has an official or semi-official status in some other Commonwealth realms; for example, it is, by parliamentary resolution, a ceremonial flag in Canada and known there as the Royal Union Flag.[4] Further, it is used as an official flag in some of the smaller British overseas territories. The Union Flag also appears in the canton (upper left-hand quarter) of the flags of several nations and territories that are former British possessions or dominions.