By John Crotty
The Irish Tricolour has a long and proud history as a symbol of proposed unity befitting its national status. It became the emblem of choice following the 1916 Easter Rising for its connection to Republicanism, the visual embodiment of an age-old national identity taking its place among modern nations states.
The story of who first crafted the symbol, its early appearances and the timeline of its adoption has been largely misunderstood, until now.
The current popularised tale states the flag was first flown March 7th, 1848, in Enniscorthy and Waterford City, inspired by the French Revolution of that year. Thomas Francis Meagher is credited with crafting the device, but a first referenced book on the Tricolour has revealed different origins.
It was the July Revolution of 1830 that inspired the first tricolour, the first tricolour device crafted by a forgotten female patriot.
Ireland was undergoing major change following granting of Catholic Emancipation in 1829, the result of tireless campaigning by Daniel O’Connell.
Once achieved O’Connell set himself a new task, Repeal of Act of Union to reestablish a Dublin parliament. To further his campaign, O’Connell sought to woo Ireland’s Protestants, frequently calling for ‘orange and green to unite’.
His right-hand man, Protestant Daniel Steele, took to wearing the ‘rivals’ colour in the form of a green sash. Unsurprisingly, a first physical fusion came early 1830 when a green and orange cockade appeared at an election event in Cork City. Attendees like O’Connell’s son, John, complimented its inclusive message.
When the French Revolution erupted in July, French tricolours joined this emerging nationalist pageantry, the scene ripe for inspiration and emulation.
The first Irish Tricolour device soon followed in September 1830, the work of Emilia Eleanor Hamilton of Annadale, Fairview, Dublin.
She was inspired by the egalitarian thinking of her time, making the meaning of her symbol clear with two lines borrowed from a poem – ‘Let orange and green no longer be seen, distained with the blood of our island’.
Following its presentation at a meeting to salute the French, the symbol gained notable newspaper coverage as a proposed new flag of Ireland, suggested in London’s popular Atlas newspaper before fading from view.
It returned to prominence before the year was out as it became the adopted symbol of Daniel O’Connell’s Repeal campaign.
At an event to mark O’Connell’s triumphal return from Parliament in December 1830, green-orange and green, orange and white devices appeared in multitude.
O’Connell was up to the task, proclaiming he came to Ireland to ‘court the Orangeman’, wearing a green and orange ribband around his neck.
Continue reading in this week’s Ireland’s Own
‘The Irish Tricolour – the truth behind the symbols and struggles that defined a nation’ by John Crotty is published by The History Press, available now. John Crotty is an Irish author and historian. His debut book, Spike Island, was critically acclaimed, featuring in Books.ie’s ‘Books of the Year’. He previously led the running of Spike Island as CEO. He has written for RTÉ and The Sunday Times and is an accomplished public speaker, in addition to innumerable radio appearances. He holds a degree from Swansea University and regularly speaks at history and writing events.
