Four Irish Provinces Flag: An Unofficial National Flag of Ireland

The Four Irish Provinces Flag serves as an unofficial national flag for Ireland, representing the provinces of Ulster, Munster, Connacht and Leinster. The flag is an economical way of honoring all four provinces, eliminating the need for 4 separate flags and flagpoles, and an alternative to the Irish Tri-Color Flag when a politically neutral flag is needed. For example, the Four Provinces Flag is often used during international sporting events, when the players hail from both the Republic and Northern Ireland.

History of the Four Irish Provinces Flag

Although a coat of arms was established for each of the provinces during the mid-17th century, and provincial flags are now commonly used, there is little historical reference to these flags, or the Four Provinces Flag, prior to the 20th century.

Design of the Four Irish Provinces Flag

The Four Provinces Flag features four quadrants with the coat of arms for the four provinces of Ulster, Munster, Connacht and Leinster. Only the flag for the province of Mide is omitted. However, since it is an unofficial flag, the order in which the arms appear varies.

Is this popular variation, the Flag of Connacht is featured in the top left, the Flag of Ulster appears in the top right, the Flag of Leinster in the bottom left, and the Flag of Munster in the bottom right. While there is no technically correct way to arrange the quadrants, generally the two provinces with blue backgrounds are opposite each other diagonally in some variation.

• The Flag of Munster features three golden crowns on a field of dark blue.
• The Flag of Connacht features a black eagle silhouette on a white background and an arm holding a sword on a field of blue.
• The Flag of Ulster features the red cross of de Burgo and the hand of O’Neill, the symbol of the Kings of Ailech and Tir Eoghan, on a field of yellow.
• The Flag of Leinster features a golden harp with silver strings on a field of dark green.

How to Buy the Four Irish Provinces Flag

Our Four Irish Provinces flag is digitally printed on durable, all-weather nylon with a canvas header & brass grommet attachment. Available in a variety of sizes, the Four Provinces Flag can be purchased online, or by calling 1-888-697-3524.

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