Folio Northern Ireland

[Athina Dollison]

Thiswas a civil flag for Northern Ireland, but the status of this was abolished when the Belfast Stormont assembly was closed down in 1973. Thereafter, the Union Flag was made official for all purposes in Northern Ireland.

Stuart Notholt, 11 February 1996

No law as such was involved. The closing of the Stormont Parliament (and the consequent removal of official status from the flag of Northern Ireland) predates the 1995 amendment to the 1993 Regulations (which specifically refers to "National Flags") by over 20 years, and so the amendment simply did not (and does not) apply.

Christopher Southworth, 8 July 2004

My understanding is that the defaced St George's cross [bearing the red hand, white star and crown] was the arms of the Government of Northern Ireland and not Northern Ireland itself, nor the Royal Arms for use in Northern Ireland. This is why the Northern Ireland flag used by the Unionists [the red hand flag] is no longer official as that government was abolished and its arms went with it. I suspect this [issue of royal arms of Northern Ireland] is one of those issues that has just been fudged because no one wants to face the almost inevitable furore that would follow an official pronouncement of the arms of Northern Ireland, or rather of the Royal Arms for use in Northern Ireland. As far as I can see they should be quartered Ireland, England, Scotland, Ireland with the hart crest. As for supporters they could either both be the red lion and elk (as in the old Government of Northern Ireland arms) bearing the two banners, or they could be a combination of an elk and a English lion, although perhaps it should be a hart and a Scottish unicorn as the majority of Northern Irish are of Scots descent rather than English.

The Royal motto of Northern Ireland is "Quis separabit" (Who will separate us) - a motto that can be taken a number of ways.

Graham Bartram, 20 October 2004

Searching for information on the Governor of Northern Ireland's flag I noticed that on the Government flag (white field, red St George cross, red hand and crown above) that a few illustrations show a "Tudor" style crown as opposed to the Edwardian version. Is this a mistake I wonder? This flag was officially adopted in 1953, and this would seem to indicate that it should be an Edwardian crown. The flag is a "Banner of Arms" and although the Arms most certainly would have the Tudor-style crown, surely when the flag was officially adopted this would have been changed. The Tudor crown I noticed is of the same style in silhouette as the crown on the Governor's flag depicted in Flaggenbuch (1992), but with more pearls and a more intricate base.

Martin Grieve, 25 February 2005

Although authorized under the Warrant of 1924, I understand that the Government flag only received widespread use following the receipt of Royal Assent on 29 May 1953, it follows therefore, that the St Edward's Crown is the one to show, since any earlier flags (whilst perfectly legal under the Laws of Arms) were apparently not officially used?

Christopher Southworth, 25 February 2005

Although some versions of the flag of the Government of Northern Ireland have no doubt been made with St Edward's crown, I suggest that any 'correct' version should have the Tudor crown. As a general 'rule' flags that are banners of arms, or have seals as badges should not be modified unless the arms or seals are altered. When the Tudor crown was introduced with the accession of Edward VII, those flag badges based on seals that included a crown, were deliberately not modified until after the seal had been amended. The arms of Northern Ireland were not altered when the St Edward's crown replaced the Tudor crown. Therefore the crown on the flag should not have been changed.

David Prothero, 25 February 2005

In books of the 1950s and 60s the flag is consistently shown with a squared-off Tudor crown. Subsequently, in 1971: The crown in the arms of which the flag is a banner was re-drawn with a St Edward's crown. In 1973, the government of Northern Ireland was abolished. It is therefore I suggest a reasonable generalisation to say that the official government flag had the modified Tudor crown, while the flag used unofficially since 1973 has had the St Edward's crown.

David Prothero, 1 March 2005

I have produced 2 versions of the Government flag. Both differ only in the style of crowns which ensign the red hand on a 6-pointed star. Christopher Southworth sent me his construction sheet to work from and the details are as follows:

The overall dimensions of the flag are 60 x 120 units.

The thickness of the cross is 12 units.

The 6-pointed star is contained within an imaginary circle of 30 units in diameter, whilst the red hand's height is 15 units.

Christopher's notes also inform us that the flag was designed by Sir Gerald Wollaston (then Norray and Ulster King of Arms) and was established as a Banner of Arms by a Warrant of King George V dated 02 August 1924. The flag became widely used after Royal Assent was given on 29 May 1953, and was effectively abolished following the Northern Ireland Constitution Act of 1973. There may have been many variants of both strains here if we consult various Flag books. Sometimes the Tudor crown appears more elaborate than the version shown above - this version is reasonably similar to a flag that Bruce Berry has in his collection from the 1940's. I have used the same crown as Flaggenbuch shows on Governor-General's flag. In Christian Fogd Pedersons book of 1970, an Edwardian crown is used, although the star is much smaller.

Martin Grieve, 7 March 2005

The reason that the College of Arms could not find the 1924 grant of arms is that it was designed and made in Dublin by Ulster King of Arms. Neville-Rodwell Wilkinson, Ulster King of Arms, drafted designs for the flag in February 1923, and the great seal in April 1923, and held discussions with Northern Ireland officials in London from January 1924 regarding the coat of arms. The final design was completed by Wilkinson's deputy Thomas Ulick Sadleir for approval by the Northern Ireland cabinet in April 1924. The artwork was approved and the Royal warrant signed by George V and issued through the Home Office on 2nd August 1924 and registered in the Register of Arms in Dublin.

Source: "Royal Roots, Republican Inheritance - The Survival of the Office of Arms" by Susan Hood, published in Dublin in 2002, page 120.

The following entry can be seen in the register of Arms in Dublin (GO Ms 111C "Grants M", Fol. 49):

"Royal Warrant Government of Northern Ireland

Argent a cross gules, overall on a six pointed star of the field ensigned by an Imperial crown proper a dexter hand couped at the wrist of the second. Given at our Court of St. James in the 15th year of our reign 2nd August 1924 by His Majesty's command."

The supporters were granted in the following year, and can be seen on folio 66 of the same volume of the Register. The office of Ulster King of Arms continued in Dublin until 1943, dealing with armorial matters north and south of the border until that date. The College of Arms only had jurisdiction in Northern Ireland from that date.

Laurence Jones, 21 August 2005

The pre-1972 Northern Ireland flag, though no longer used by the Government there, was used officially at the recent Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, being carried in procession before the Northern Ireland team, and hoisted at appropriate medal ceremonies.

Kenneth Fraser, 5 August 2014

The red hand of Ulster comes from a legend from one of Ireland's many legendary invasions. The leader of a war party promised a prize to the first man to touch land with his right hand; so the winner, a left-handed man, cut off his right hand and threw it onto the shore.

James Dignan, 27 November 1995

I have read most of the pseudo-historical works that describe the mythological invasions of Ireland - 'Leabhar Gabhla ireann','Foras Feasa ar irinn', 'Annla Rochta ireann', and I have not come across such a story.

The most recent and best study of Irish heraldry, Nicholas Williams, 'Armas: Sracfhachaint ar Araltas na hireann'(Dublin, 2001), contains no mention such a legend either - although the author's 'day job' is as a university lecturer in Irishliterature. This is what he has to say about the origin of the red hand (the translation is mine):

"It is not really known what the origin of the 'red hand' is but it is associated with various Ulster lineagaes. A poetic dispute fromthe 16th century is extant which indicates that Sol Rra (McGuinnesses) and the northern descendents of Niall Naoighiallach(O'Neills) claimed the exclusive right to use the red hand as a symbol. It is significant that the red right hand is widely found inIrish heraldry, especially in Ulster, e.g. in the arms of the O'Neills, McCartans, O'Donnellys, O'Dunlevys, and McGuinnesses. It isclear that the human hand was a basic element in pagan Irish imagery."

I might add that the ancestors of the McGuinnesses were displaced as rulers of Ulster by the ancestors of the O'Neills in the 5th century.The fact that they were disputing ownership of the red hand a thousand years later suggests that by the 16th century it wasassociated with the province.

Vincent Morley, 2 June 2002

A yellow flag with a red cross, bearing a white shield charged with the red hand of Ulster, is a banner of the arms of the traditional province of Ulster. Sometime after Northern Ireland was formed as a separate self-governing entity in 1922 it adopted arms based on, but not the same as, Ulster, with which it is not coterminous (three of Ulster's nine counties being in the Republic). Presumably the Northern Irish arms were deliberately made more "British" with the addition of the crown and the changing of field to make it look like the St. George's cross. Interestingly, when these arms were displayed on a flag badge in the Governor of Northern Ireland's flag, the disc was yellow, not the customary white.Roy Stilling, 6 March 1996

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