what do the colors in the ireland flag mean
Flag of Ireland The green pale of the flag symbolises Roman Catholics, the orange represents the minority Protestants who were supporters of William of Orange, who had defeated King James II and his predominantly Irish Catholic army[14] at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.[15] His title came from the Principality of Orange in the south of France that had been a Protestant bastion from the 16th century. It was included in the Irish flag in an attempt to reconcile the Orange Order in Ireland with the Irish independence movement.[citation needed] The white in the centre signifies a lasting peace and hope for union between Protestants and Catholics in Ireland.[16] The flag, as a whole, is intended to symbolise the inclusion and hoped-for union of the people of different traditions on the island of Ireland, which is expressed in the Constitution as the entitlement of every person born in Ireland to be part of the independent Irish nation, regardless of ethnic origin, religion or political conviction.[17][18] There are exceptions to the general beneficent theory. Green was also used as the colour of such Irish bodies as the mainly-Protestant and non-sectarian Friendly Brothers of St. Patrick, established in 1751.
Union Jack The present design of the Union Flag dates from a Royal proclamation following the union of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801.[8] The flag combines aspects of three older national flags: the red cross of St George of the Kingdom of England, the white saltire of St Andrew for Scotland (which two were united in the first Union Flag), and the red saltire of St Patrick to represent Ireland.