Flag of Ireland

The national flag of Ireland, frequently referred to in Ireland as "the tricolour" and elsewhere as the Irish tricolour, is a vertical tricolour of green, white and orange. The proportions of the flag are 1:2.

The national flag is the tricolour of green, white and orange. The Department of the Taoiseach takes general responsibility for matters relating to the flag. In its advisory role, the department has issued guidelines to assist the use of the flag; these state that it should be rectangular in shape, its length should be double its width, and the three coloured pales – green, white and orange – should be of equal size and vertically disposed. According to the guidelines, the flag should normally be displayed on a flagstaff, with the green pale positioned next to the flagstaff, at the hoist. Provided that the correct proportions are observed, the flag may be made to any convenient size. The green pale of the flag symbolises Roman Catholics and the orange represents the minority Protestants who were supporters of William of Orange. His title came from the Principality of Orange, but his power came from his leadership as Stadtholder of the Netherlands, a Protestant bastion from the 16th century. The white in the centre signifies a lasting peace and hope for union between Protestants and Catholics in Ireland. The flag, as a whole, is intended to symbolise the inclusion and hoped-for…