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Although many believe that Gold is a colour in the Irish flag, its colours are actually Green, White and Orange.

Inspired by the French Tricolore, it symbolises the battling communities living on the island.

Protestants are represented by the colour Orange after William of Orange, the King of England who defeated the Catholic James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. This victory secured Protestant dominance in Ireland.

The green is symbolic of ancient Ireland - the country is known as the Emerald Isle because of its lush greenery.

Indeed, the previous (unofficial) Irish flag -a gold harp on a green background- was a symbol of Irish nationalism from 1798 until the early twentieth century.

Article 7 of the Constitution of Ireland, or "Bunreacht na hEireann" states that "The National Flag is the Tricolour of Green, White and Orange."

The Irish tricolour as we know it today was introduced by a militant nationalist member of the revolutionary group 'Young Ireland' called Thomas Francis Meagher. It was sent to him in 1848 as a gift from the citizens of France, who were revolutionaries who sympathised with the cause of Irish Nationalism. Young Ireland were inspired by the French Revolutionaries.

Explaining the idea behind the flag, Meagher said:

"The white in the centre signifies a lasting truce between the Orange and the Green, and I trust that, beneath its folds, the hands of the Irish Protestant and the Irish Catholic may be clasped in generous and heroic brotherhood."

The Irish tricolour did not come into regular usage for some fifty years after Meagher's death when the emblem started to be displayed during the 1916 Easter Rising. Before that, the old flag featuring a gold harp on a green background was more popular.

Just weeks before he was executed for his role in the Easter Rising, James Connolly wrote:

"The green flag of Ireland will be solemnly hoisted over Liberty Hall as a symbol of our faith in freedom, and as a token to all the world that the working class of Dublin stands for the cause of Ireland, and the cause of Ireland is the cause of a separate and distinct nationality."

Nowadays, the Green, White and Orange flag is firmly established as the national emblem of Ireland. Meagher's peaceful ideals have not yet been realised, but the flag remains a powerful symbol of the diverse people of Ireland.