Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1914-07-15
MANY FLAGS.
COUNTRY HAS HAD NuMERolu-sls.
EM1LEMs or SOVEREIGNTY.
Harp, Dsemed by Most People az TYP
leaIiy irish, Was Really Impossd
Upon the Country by an
English King.

What flag shall Ireland fly? This
u . question that Is again being dis.
cussed, writes, a London correspond.
emit of the New York Sun. y
Probably no country has had more
national flags than Ireland, SO that OF
.old.time flags range OF choice Is by no
means restricted. The most ancient,
without doubt, is the Spear and Ser.
'pent," said to commemorate the cur
ing BY Moses OF an ancestor Of Mile
sius who had been bitten by a snake.
Then there is the golden sunburst
upon q blue ground, emblem OF F1onn
MacCumhall's Fenian (militia). Blue
was always Ireland's national color
until 1913, when the United lrishmen,
to signify the blending OF north and
south evolved a national color OF the
blue formed by the amalgamation OF
blue and orange-namely. green.
Another flag is that which Crom-
wells soldiers are reputed to have
seen when fighting the Kernes, 9
cross upon a golden ground. Opinions
as to whether such5was ever q ma
tional emblem or not are divided.
many people believing 1t to have been
the arms of an insurgent commander.
The three golden crowns upon q
blue ground is another emblem which
has not been overlooked. The design
appears today in the arms OF Mum;
ster, and the three crewns are said
to typify the triple kingdoms Of Ores
mond, Thomond and O-mond. Any
way, this flag was the emblem of Ire.
land from ITO to 1547, when Henry
VIII Of England substituted thu harp
for the three crowns, the reason be-
ing that Henry was anxious that q
three rowns should not be confused
with the triple tiara Of he$pope. with
whom, at this juncture. Henry was
not on the best Of terms.
Thus 1t comes about that the harp,
which is deemed as typically Irish,
was imposed upon Ireland by an Eng
lish king; but had not the United
Irrishmen, although they decroWned
the harp in 1898. adopted It as their
emblem, and Grattan's parliament
recognized the harp, although they
did not like the green ground. It is
hardly likely that the average Irish.
man today would regard It as other
than an upstart burgee.
Still another national device to be
considered Is the Lamb Cearg
Eirinn," the Red Hand of Ireland.
which. upon q white ground, was
borne by Shane and Hugh O'Neilrs
armies that defeated Queen Eliza
beth's generals. Il
The early hours Of the nineteenth
century saw Ireland inflicted with the
st. Patrick's Cross, . red satire upon
= white ground. What st. Patrick,
had to do with It nobody car say, but
some emblem or the other had got
to be Incorporated In the British flag
upon the passing Of the act Of union.
and SO the heralds did the rest
Wherever they got the red satire! from
It is not known, but there L.
reason to believe that 1t was Dor.
rowed from the arms of Trinity Q
lege. Dublin, which had in turn bor-
rowed it from the Fitzgerald family.
IN ali probability Ireland will
adopt the sunburst upon BLU
ground, the chief reason being it, an
tiquity, its distinctly Irish origin. and
its symbolism Of Ireland rising 70
take her proper place among the ma
tons. y
But come what may, the ground
Of the new flag Is going to be blue.
The Sim Peiners are resolved upon:
that, and that the fag's material shall
not be silk OF cotton. but good Irish
linen. 5