Flag of Ireland?

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nectar

The green is representative of the Catholic community while the orange represents the Protestant Community. The white in the centre signifies a lasting truce between the two cultures.

lmmvirago

Officially (i.e. in the national constitution) the colours of the Irish flag have no meaning. However many urban legends have arisen to account for the colours. Some are presented below:

From this webpage: The Green is for the Catholics, the Orange for the Protestants and the white for the peace between them. Every once in a while when you see a green-white-yellow (instead of orange) flag around the country here, that person is basically disagreeing.
Heather, 27 April 2003 [Ed. note: green-white-yellow/gold are the colours of Offaly.]

From a Government webpage: The green represents the older Gaelic tradition while the orange represents the supporters of William of Orange. The white in the centre signifies a lasting truce between the 'Orange' and the 'Green'.

There are a few reason why Green is associated with Catholics in Ireland - Coming from the long struggle for independence. Around the time of the American Revolution, there was anxiety in the ruling classes of Europe; fearing that the ideas of liberty and so on would spread to their own population and spark some kind of revolt. This was very true in Ireland - where resentment to British rule was very strong. Green had always been associated with Ireland as a nation, and with the revolutionary groups within it. For a while around 1776, the wearing of the colour green was actually barred by the authorities, giving rise to the song of the same name.

Green was the colour of sympathy for independence around this time, and has pretty much stuck with that until this day. The modern flag arrives much later, as a compromise flag - Which ironically, today, is used as a symbol for (complete) independence.
Jim McBrearty, 29 April 2003

The orange colour is associated with the Protestants in Ulster and that derived from William III (of the House of Orange and originally the Stadtholder of the Netherlands) who defeated the Irish Catholics at the Battle of the Boyne somewhere in the late 1600s. It was included in the Irish flag in an attempt to reconcile the Protestants with the Irish independence movement.
A.P. Burgers, 26 May 2004

dlil

Peace (white) btwn the Catholic (green) and Protestants (orange)

Adoptive Father

The flag has a field of white in between orange and green.

I read somewhere, so it must be true, that the symbolism is for Protestants and Catholics to live together in peace.

Proud Fenian

the green represtents the catholics the orange stands for the ptoestants.the white stands for the peace between them

peter k

Repression

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