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Flag of Northern Ireland

The Union Jack
The Ulster Banner
Saint Patrick's Saltire

The only official flag for Northern Ireland is the Union Flag or Union Jack, the flag of the United Kingdom; there is no official local flag that represents only Northern Ireland.[1][2][3][4] The flying of various flags in Northern Ireland is a significant sectarian issue, with different communities identifying with different flags.[5]

The Ulster Banner was used by the Northern Irish government from 1953 until the government and parliament were abolished in 1973. Since then, it has had no official status.[6][7][8][9] However, it is still used as the flag of Northern Ireland by both loyalists and unionists[10][11] and to represent Northern Ireland internationally in some sporting competitions, like the Commonwealth Games.[12]

The Saint Patrick's Saltire represents Northern Ireland indirectly as Ireland in the Union Flag. It is sometimes flown during Saint Patrick's Day parades in Northern Ireland[13] and is used to represent Northern Ireland during some royal events.[14]

In recent years, there have been calls for a new, neutral flag for Northern Ireland,[15][16] most recently as a recommendation by the Commission on Flags, Identity, Culture and Tradition in December 2021.[17]

  1. ^ Minahan, James (2009). The Complete Guide to National Symbols and Emblems. ABC-CLIO. p. 486. ISBN 9780313344978. The official flag of the province is the Union Jack. There is no official national flag of Northern Ireland, following the Northern Ireland Constitution Act of 1973, nor any unofficial flag universally accepted in Northern Ireland.
  2. ^ McCormick, John (2012). Contemporary Britain. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 53. The old flag of Northern Ireland – a red hand inside a white star on a red cross – has strong connections with the Protestant community, and is no longer official but is still occasionally flown. The official flag of Northern Ireland is the Union Flag.
  3. ^ McCartney, Clem (1994). Clashing Symbols?: A Report on the Use of Flags, Anthems and Other National Symbols in Northern Ireland. Queen's University of Belfast. pp. 150–151. ISBN 9780853895381. In December 1986 the Northern Ireland Office produced an Explanatory Document on the [Flags and Emblems Act], which stated: [...] "Repeal of the Act would make no change whatsoever to the position that the Union flag is the official flag of Northern Ireland as it is of the United Kingdom as a whole'.
  4. ^ "Northern Ireland (United Kingdom)". Flags of the World.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Ulster". Flag Institute. The Ulster flag is different from the Ulster Banner, which was the former flag of Northern Ireland but now holds no official status.
  7. ^ Paul Nolan; Dominic Bryan (2016). Flags: Towards a New Understanding (PDF). Queen's University Belfast. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 April 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2016. following the Northern Ireland Constitution Act of 1973, the Ulster Banner ceased to have any official standing, but there followed a huge increase in its unofficial use as a symbol of loyalism.
  8. ^ Promoting Fair Play in Sport. Sport Northern Ireland. p. 9. Archived 7 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine "Many existing flags have no official status and this includes the former Northern Ireland ‘flag’ (or flag of the Executive Committee of the Privy Council of Northern Ireland or Ulster Banner)".
  9. ^ "Northern Ireland Executive: Flags". TheyWorkForYou. Hansard. 14 May 2007. Peter Hain, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland: 'The Ulster flag and the Cross of St. Patrick have no official status and under the Flags Regulations are not permitted to be flown from Government Buildings'.
  10. ^ Flags Monitoring Project 2006: Preliminary Findings Queen's University, Belfast. p.25. "The meaning attached by people to these regional flags can vary. This is particularly true of the Northern Ireland or Ulster flag which would have been extensively used by loyalists since 1972. Also, it has no official status as a flag for Northern Ireland."
  11. ^ "Flags used in Northern Ireland". Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN). this particular flag of Northern Ireland is seen as staunchly Loyalist
  12. ^ "Home of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games". Commonwealth Games - Birmingham 2022. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  13. ^ Groom, Nick (2007). "Union Jacks and Union Jills". In Eriksen, Thomas Hylland; Jenkins, Richard (eds.). Flag, Nation and Symbolism in Europe and America. Abingdon: Routledge. pp. 68–87. ISBN 978-0-415-44404-0. LCCN 2007018505. OCLC 123968978. OL 9353071W.
  14. ^ Bartram, Graham (2012). "A Visual Guide to the Flags used in the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant" (PDF). Flag Institute. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 November 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  15. ^ "New Northern Ireland flag should be created, says Lord Kilclooney". The News Letter. 17 December 2013. Archived from the original on 24 June 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2016. Lord Kilclooney, the former Ulster Unionist deputy leader, is a vice chairman of Westminsters all-party group on flags and heraldry which promotes the flying of the Union Flag. He told the News Letter […] 'whilst England (St George's Cross) Scotland (St Andrew's Cross) and Wales (The Dragon) have individual regional flags, the Flags Institute in London confirms that Northern Ireland has no official regional flag'.
  16. ^ "Find a neutral flag for all of Northern Ireland: Richard Haass issues challenge to parties". Belfast Telegraph. 3 December 2013.
  17. ^ "Flags report: Five things we learned from 168-page document". BBC News. 4 December 2021.
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