Irish Flags – Ireland Tricolour, County Flags & Bunting

Irish flags: the tricolour and what it means

The Irish flag is a vertical tricolour of green, white and orange, green at the hoist, in a 1:2 proportion. It was first presented in Waterford in March 1848 by Thomas Francis Meagher of the Young Irelanders, who brought the design back from France, and it was raised over the GPO during the Easter Rising of 1916. The Irish Free State adopted it in 1922 and Article 7 of the 1937 Constitution made it the national flag. Green stands for the older Gaelic and Catholic tradition, orange for the followers of William of Orange, and the white between them for a lasting peace between the two. Our Ireland flag uses the proper orange rather than the gold of a cheap flag, so it never gets mistaken for an Italian or Ivorian flag.

Variations in the same collection include the Ireland with shamrock flag, an Ireland grunge flag and an Ireland smiley face flag for the fan zone, alongside the Irish rugby flag that unites both sides of the border at the Aviva.

St Patrick’s Day and the rest of the year

St Patrick’s Day on 17 March is the busiest week of our year for Irish flags, bunting and hand flags, with Irish pubs, parade committees and schools from Birmingham to Boston ordering from early February. Easter brings the Rising commemorations, the Six Nations runs from February to March, the All-Ireland hurling and football finals fall in July, and Irish centres, GAA clubs and the Irish pub trade keep flags up all year.

Choosing a size

5ft x 3ft fits a 20ft telescopic pole, a pub bracket or a house wall and is the size parade stewards buy in bulk. 3ft x 2ft suits a short pole, a bedroom or a classroom; 8ft x 5ft is the size for a GAA club flagpole or a stage. Eyelets are standard, with rope and toggle or clips offered on the DuraFlag grade.

Flagtex, Flagtex Nylon or DuraFlag

Flagtex is the budget woven polyester, printed through to both faces and priced for parades and St Patrick’s night. Flagtex Nylon is the mid grade with a denser weave and a quadruple-stitched fly end for a season outside. The DuraFlag Ireland flag is the one for Irish centres, hotels and clubs that fly every day: 150gsm knitted polyester, double-stitched hems, a reinforced header and UV-fast inks.

Ireland bunting

Ireland bunting is printed on weatherproof polyester and sewn to a strong tape, so a pub frontage or parade route can stay dressed from Paddy’s Day through to Easter. Triangle pennants give the street-party look; rectangle pennants show the full tricolour. Shamrock bunting, Four Provinces bunting and Erin Go Bragh bunting are made the same way.

Hand flags, table flags and car flags

Ireland hand flags on wooden sticks are sold singly and in packs for parades, schools and supporters’ buses. The Ireland table flag with base suits a bar counter, a reception desk or a St Patrick’s Day dinner; the Ireland car flag clips to a window for match days; and the Ireland windsock flies from any garden pole.

Provincial and Irish county flags

The four provinces each have a flag, bunting, hand flags and a table flag: Leinster with the golden harp, Munster with three crowns, Connacht with the eagle and arm, and Ulster with the Red Hand, combined on the Four Provinces flag. The Irish county flags range carries the GAA county colours as plain half-and-half flags — green and gold, blue and gold, black and amber, saffron and white and the rest — with dedicated pages for Dublin, Cork, Kerry, Galway, Mayo, Donegal, Clare, Limerick, Tipperary and Wexford.

Historic and cultural Irish flags

The other Irish flags range runs from the Erin Go Bragh flag and the Sunburst to the Starry Plough in green and blue, the Easter Rising Irish Republic flag, the St Patrick’s Cross, Celtic crosses and the Shamrock flag. Northern Ireland, the Ulster Banner and loyal-order designs have their own Northern Ireland flags page.

Irish flag FAQs

Popular in this collection

• Ireland Flag (3x2 to 8x5ft, 3 grades)from £6.99
• Ireland Buntingfrom £9.98
• Ireland Hand Flagspacks
• Ireland Car Flagfrom £7.99
• Four Provinces FlagLeinster to Ulster
• Irish County FlagsGAA colours