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RE: Evolution of the Flag of Ireland
Vexillology is the scientific study of the history, symbolism and usage of flags or, by extension, any interest in flags in general.
I like flags, but Ireland has a much rougher background than flags can explain. Could you tell me about the symbolism?
Sure thing.
So, as you mentioned, Ireland's flag history isn't very extensive when you look into it, which made it very hard to do research into the history of Ireland's flag. A lot of the older flags don't really have explanations for their symbolism, other than the current flag that they use.
The first flag that that was used (1542 - 1801) was the royal standard from when Ireland was known as the Kingdom of Ireland.
The second flag that was used (1801 - 1919) is the Union Jack from when Ireland was incorporated into Great Britain.
The third flag that was used (1919 - 1922) almost has no explanation for it, as it had a very short use in Ireland's history.
The fourth and current flag (1922 - present) has a better explanation on its symbolism. The green represents the Irish Catholics and Irish republicanism, the orange represents the Irish protestants, and the white represents the hope and peace that can be achieved between the two religious communities.
There is also an unofficial Irish flag that has been is use since 1642.
Thank you. It is always fun to find people that are genuinely interested in their topics.
Don't mention it. I'm glad that you took the time to look into it. Most people could care less about flags. But it's always funny to see that the moment you mention something bad about someone else's flag, then they care, which just goes to show that people do care about their flags even though they act like they don't.