VIBE - Newsletter (Spring 2016)

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Vexillology Ireland: Brateolaíocht Éireann

VIBE Spring Newsletter 2016

Welcome to Vexillology Ireland’s Spring Newsletter!

While in Ireland it may already be considered summer,

everywhere else it is still officially spring (at least in the Northern

Hemisphere). The Irish word for spring is “Earrach” and it has

traditionally begun in February with St. Brigid’s Day, going back to

the pre-Christian Celtic times. Irish is an Indo-European language

and the word Earrach is directly related to other European

languages. In the Romance languages, a variation of “Primavera” is

used which derives from the Latin primus, meaning “first” and ver meaning “spring”. In the East Slavic languages and

Polish, a variation of “Vesna” is used to mean spring which derives from Vesna, the ancient Slavic goddess of spring,

birth and renewal, no different to the Germanic goddess “Oestre”, from whom we get the word “Easter”.

The English word “spring” derives from the Old English springan, meaning "to spring, leap or burst forth”, in

reference to everything in nature that sprouts and blooms at this time. We originally wanted to use a shamrock to

symbolise spring (after all shamrock simply means “little clover”), but then realized that would automatically be

interpreted as something Irish and not Spring-ish. Therefore we decided to go for a simple sprout.

Flag of Northern Ireland

As many people are aware now, there will be two Irish teams competing at this summer’s Euro 2016 in France –

Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. In other words, there is double the chance of an Irish team winning the

tournament. Hopes aside, for this reason, we decided to provide some information on the history and use of the

“Ulster Banner” which without a doubt will be visible during the European championships.

The flag of Northern Ireland is a heraldic banner and features the Red Hand of Ulster, a six-pointed star for the six

counties and the British Crown on a St. George’s Cross. The flag was adopted in 1953 in honour of the coronation of

Queen Elizabeth II and was based on the coat of arms that was granted to the Government of Northern Ireland in

1924 by the Ulster King of Arms based in Dublin Castle.

The flag lost its official status in 1972 when the Parliament of Northern Ireland was abolished by the British

government and since then there has been no ‘official flag’ for Northern Ireland. However, internationally, the flag is

still used officially for sporting fixtures and events such as the Commonwealth Games. It is recognised by FIFA and

officially represents the Northern Ireland national football team. However, it should be noted that internally the flag

continues to be used by a number of local authorities and remains a divisive issue as it is mainly used by the loyalist

and unionist communities. Good luck to both teams this summer!

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Irish and Austrian Regional Flags

Unlike Austria, Ireland does not have any official regional flags. Despite what many people would like to believe,

there are no official county flags, only official “County Colours”. These County Colours act as de-facto flags for each

county on the island. Still, apart from the Colours, there is no one specific flag for each county as there are many flag

variations that are produced by

different people and companies.

Ireland suffers the same problem that

Austria does, in that some

neighbouring counties (states for

Austria) have the same coloured

flags. It is only when the arms of the

respective Austrian states are placed

on the flag that one can differentiate

between the two. Ireland is no

different and places the emblems of

GAA teams on the flags.

In the case of Ireland, Cavan, Laois, Monaghan and Waterford all use a “white and blue” bicolour, while Donegal,

Leitrim, Meath and Kerry all share the same “green and gold” colours. In the case of Austria, Vienna, Salzburg and

Vorarlberg all have the same Indonesian-like flag, while Tyrol and Upper Austria both use a Polish-like flag.

The Story of the Austrian Flag

The Austrian red- white-red colours are among the oldest national colours

in use today. Legend has it that during the Siege of Acre (1189-91), part of

the Third Crusade, the white coat of Leopold V, Duke of Austria was

soaked in blood. Upon taking off his belt, he revealed a white strip in

between the red. It is said that he was so impressed by the image that he

adopted it as his banner. This legend shares many parallels with that of

the Latvian flag which too was said to have come from a “blood and

battle” context. It should be noted that the war flag of the Holy Roman

Empire used during the Crusades was a white cross on a red field, a design

that went on to be used on the arms of Vienna from the 14th century

where it was depicted on a shield in front of an eagle.

The oldest known illustration of the Austrian flag dates to 1230, to a seal

representing Frederick II, the Duke of Austria (1211-1246) and the first written

mention two years after that in 1232. Frederick II was the last of the Babenbergs,

the original rulers of the Austrian lands who originally came from northern Bavaria

(Franconia). Subsequently the coat of arms was passed onto the later, better-known

rulers – the Habsburgs.

The Habsburg black and yellow flag began to be used in the 18th century which partly

derived from the banner of the Holy Roman Empire.

The Austrian flag was first adopted as a naval ensign on 20 March 1786, with the

founding of the Austrian navy. The flag was defaced with an Austrian shield with a crown. It was used as a merchant

flag until 1869 and apart from a few minor changes remained the war flag until the demise of the Austro-Hungarian

Empire. After WWI both Austria and Hungary lost access to the coast and had both their navies confiscated by the

victorious Allied powers, to this day they are still landlocked.

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The flag was officially adopted as a “national flag” on 12

November 1918, after the fall of the monarchy and the

proclamation of a republic. During the “Austro-fascist”

rule of the Fatherland Front (1934-1938), a defaced

Austrian flag with a cross potent (Kruckenkreuz) was

used alongside the plain flag. After the Anschluß, a

different flag and cross (Hakenkreuz) came to represent

Austria during the Nazi period (1938-1945). Shortly after

Vienna was liberated by the Soviets, the national flag

was re-adopted on 1 May 1945, four days after the

current Second Republic was proclaimed.

Original Israeli Flag

The original Israeli flag was designed over half a century before the state of Israel was officially declared. It was

created in 1891 by the Zionist movement and made its first appearance in 1897 at the first World Zionist Congress

which was held in Basel, Switzerland. The congress was organized by the Austro-Hungarian Jew Theodor Herzl who is

known as the founder of modern political Zionism. He died in 1904 and was buried at Döblinger Cemetery in Vienna.

In 1949, a year after the Israeli state was founded, his remains were transported to Jerusalem and he was reburied in

what is now called Mount Herzl (Israel’s national cemetery) based on the wishes from his will.

The original flag featured a golden Star of David (Magen David), a Jewish symbol that dates from the medieval times.

Seven golden stars were placed on the flag - one above the Star of David and the other six inside each of the

chambers, including the lion of Judah in the middle. The white field and blue stripes were based on the Jewish

prayer shawl known as “tallith”. The 1891 Israeli flag was altered before it was adopted on 28 October 1948.

The Lateran Treaty and the Vatican Flag

The flag of Vatican City was adopted on June 7, 1929, the day that the Italian parliament ratified the Lateran Treaty

which created Vatican City, an independent city-state that is governed by the Holy See.

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The papal tiara and the crossed keys have been a Papal symbol since the 14th century. The colours yellow and white

are those of St. Peter’s keys and represent the kingdom of heaven and papal authority. They were originally adopted

as Papal colours in 1808 and used until 1870, when the Papal States were incorporated into the Kingdom of Italy.

Although the flag has officially a ratio of 1:1, the actual flags that fly in the Vatican are 2:3, so as to match the

proportions of the Italian flag. In Ireland and Canada, for example, the Vatican flags have a ratio of 1:2 because that

is the ratio of both national flags.

31st International Eucharistic Congress, Dublin, 1932

In vexillology it is always good to reflect on past events and observe the use of flags at proceedings. The photographs

you see below are from the 31st International Eucharistic Congress in 1932. The three images show different sections

of O’Connell Street, Dublin’s main thoroughfare and the abundance of flags that flew and hung along it.

The event was one of the largest Eucharistic congresses of the 20th century. Around 1 million people took part in the

final mass that was held in the Phoenix Park, Dublin and was the largest single gathering in Ireland since Daniel

O'Connell's 'monster gathering' in 1843 at Tara, County Meath when about half a million people gathered to hear

him speak. One of the reasons why Ireland was selected to host this congress was because in 1932, the country was

celebrating the 1500th Anniversary of Saint Patrick's arrival.

Irish Naval Flags

A “Naval Ensign” is a naval flag that is flown at the back of a ship (stern) and used to represent the navy of a country

at sea. Ireland along with countries such as France, the Netherlands, Turkey, South Korea and Brazil, simply use the

national flag as their naval ensign.

The use of the Irish tricolour as a naval ensign began in 1939. Until then most Irish registered boats were forced by

Britain to fly the red ensign. Since Ireland declared itself neutral during WWII it was decided that this practice could

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no longer be continued. The flying of the Irish national flag continued after the war with the reorganisation of the

naval forces in 1946.

The Irish Naval Jack was adopted in 1947 after the establishment of the Naval Service (an tSeirbhís Chabhlaigh) in

1946. The flag consists of a gold harp with 14 diagonal strings on a green field. It is flown at the bow of the ship

(front) and used to represent Ireland along with the Naval Ensign. The jack is usually flown when an Irish naval ship is

anchored, moored or when it is under way and dressed with masthead ensigns. Be careful not to mix up this flag

with the flag of Leinster, one of the four provinces of Ireland.

Flag of the European

Movement

The Hague Congress is considered by

many as the first federal moment of

modern European history. It was

held at the Hall of Knights in The

Hague on May 9, 1948. During the

congress a flag consisting of a large

red "E" upon a white field was hung

up. It became known as the “flag of the European Movement” and changed the colour of the letter to green the next

year. The first main accomplishment of the European Movement was the setting up of the Council of Europe in May

1949. The council chose not to adopt the flag and instead adopted what we today regard as the “EU flag” on 8

December 1955. Today the flag of the European Movement is still used by the Union of European Federalists (UEF)

and is usually called the "Federalist Flag”.

Europe Days

Europe Day is an annual celebration of peace and unity in Europe

but did you know that there are two separate days? The Council

of Europe celebrates on 5th May and the European Union on 9th

May.

The Council of Europe was founded on 5 May 1949 by the Treaty

of London. In 1964 it was decided that 5th May would be "Europe

Day". Today the CoE covers 47 member states and includes

approximately 820 million people. The European Union

commemorates 9th May because of the historical 'Schuman

Declaration' which was presented by the French foreign minister

Robert Schuman on 9 May 1950. He proposed the creation of a “European Coal and Steel Community” which

became the first of a series of supranational European institutions that would eventually become today's "European

Union".

Crimean Flags

In light of the Eurovision and other events, we decided to write on two Crimean flags as a way to describe the long

and complicated story of the Crimean Peninsula.

Between 1449 and 1783 Crimea was a Turkic vassal state of the Ottoman Empire (Crimean Khanate). It became a

part of the Russian Empire in 1783 under the Prussian-born Catherine the Great. The area experienced the Crimean

War between 1853 and 1856 and Nazi German occupation in 1942. Upon liberation in 1944, the Georgian-born

Joseph Stalin forcibly deported 200,000 Crimean Tatars as collective punishment due to a number of them

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cooperating with the Nazis, a story that echoes in many other ex-Soviet countries. A year after Stalin's death in 1954,

Khrushchev, who had Ukrainian roots, transferred Crimea from the Russian SFSR to the Ukrainian SSR. This did not

matter as both Russia and Ukraine were part of the same country, issues only arose with the breakup of the USSR.

On 5 May 1992, the Crimean Republic proclaimed independence from Ukraine but later agreed to remain as an

autonomous part. In honour of its new status, a flag was designed and introduced on 24 September 1992 and

officially adopted on 21 April 1999. The flag was designed by V. Trusov and A. Malgin and was one of 5 proposals.

The colours derive from the Russian tricolour, in the same way that the flag of the autonomous province of Vojvodina

is based on the Serbian flag. The colours on the Crimean flag represent the future (blue), the present (white) and

Crimea's heroic and tragic past (red).

After the October Revolution in 1917, the Crimean People’s Republic was proclaimed and Crimea was briefly a

sovereign state. In 1918 it turned into a base for the anti-Bolshevik White Army after which it became part of the

Soviet Union and once again under Russian control. During the brief independence, three flags were used – a civil

(light blue), a religious (green) and a military one (red), with all of them featuring a golden “T” called a tarak tamga,

an symbol originally used as a cattle brand by the Crimean Khans that is now the emblem for all Crimean Tatars.

Today only the light blue flag is used and is commonly known in Tatar as Kök Bayra, meaning "Blue Banner". Yellow is

said to mean righteousness while the blue is a traditional Turkic colour that stands for the sky and freedom. Since

2010 Crimean Tatar Flag Day takes place every year on 26 June.

Ribbon of Saint George

As with many historical symbols, the ribbon of Saint George has taken on

a different meaning in contemporary Russian and neighbouring societies.

The ribbon dates back to the establishment of the Order of Saint George

by Catherine the Great (Prussian/German) in 1769 as the highest military

decoration in the Russian Empire. As a matter of interest, the Order of

Saint Patrick was established in in 1783 by George III as a British order of

chivalry. During WWII the ribbon reappeared in 1943 as part of the Order

of Glory, a military decoration awarded to specific people who demonstrated feats of bravery. The order was revived

on August 8, 2000 by a decree of Putin and is now the highest purely military decoration in the Russian Federation.

Some say the black stripes represent gun powder while the orange stands for fire. Others believe it derives from the

Imperial coat of arms.

The symbol of the three black stripes on orange was re-invented in 2005 for the 60th anniversary of Victory Day in

Europe during WWII. It should be noted that Russia and other ex-Soviet countries have traditionally celebrated

Victory Day in Europe on 9th rather than 8th May due to the time difference between Moscow and Central Europe.

The reinvention of the ribbon was largely due to the Russian news agency RIA Novosti which launched a campaign

for volunteers to distribute ribbons in the streets ahead of Victory Day celebrations. Apart from the anniversary, the

campaign was also influenced by the pro-European Orange Revolution in Ukraine, a year earlier. Despite the orange

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colour, there was no link between the two other than that the Ukrainian revolution spurred on Russian nationalism

and Soviet myth making.

Victory Day is one of the biggest holidays in Russia and every, year ahead of 9th May, you see the ribbon appear on

everything from cars to posters to people’s jackets. The ribbon symbolises the heroism of soldiers for Russians and

the victory over Nazi Germany in what is called the “Great Patriotic War”. However, many people today who wear

the ribbon express nationalistic feelings and support for the Russian government. During the Maidan Revolution it

became a symbol of Russian nationalism, separatism and anti-Maidan support. In addition, due to Russia’s

involvement in the Ukrainian conflict, the ribbon has become an evil symbol for Ukrainian nationalists who call it

the "Colorado ribbon" due to the similarity of the pattern to the Colorado potato beetle and have called for a ban on

the ribbon.

To a large degree, the ribbon is no different to the red remembrance poppy that is widely worn in Britain and other

former British colonies since 1921, in honour of the people who died in both World Wars. This connection is

important as it helps to explain why you would not see Estonian or Ukrainian nationalists wear this ribbon, in the

same way you would not see people in the Republic of Ireland wear the red poppy. It is therefore understandable

why the Ukrainian government in the last two years has chosen to commemorate Victory Day on 8th May and wear

poppies instead of Saint George ribbons.

VIBE Summer Newsletter 2016

The VIBE Summer Newsletter will be out in July/August 2016. We are now looking for people to contribute to this

issue. If you would like to write a short piece on something related to flags, please send an email to

[email protected]. Go raibh míle maith agaibh!

Further Contact

Email: [email protected]

Address: Genealogical Society of Ireland, 11, Desmond

Avenue, Dún Laoghaire, Co. Dublin, Ireland. A96 AD76

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