Ireland before the Partition of 1922

Last modified: 2005-07-16 by rob raeside
Keywords: ireland | green flag | harp | union jack | congested districts board |
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• The Green Ensign
• Congested Districts Board
• Department of Agriculture
• Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
• Governor General of Irish Free State

See also:

• Ireland
• The Green Flag
• Saint Patrick's Cross

by Randy Young

The 1917 National Geographic Flag Book has a depiction of an Irish ensign with a green fly and a square English Cross of Saint George in the canton. It bears a gold harp in the lower right fly. The text describes it as the 'Irish ensign at the beginning of the eighteenth century'. The text on page 399 states that the flags in this section were prepared from the black and white drawings (with color indicated) in a book by John Beaumont (third edition) published by John Motte in London in 1701.
Kevin McNamara, 28 October 1998

A similar type of ensign was supposed to have been used in Irish waters between 1688 and 1694; a green flag with a gold harp in the fly but with a St Patrick's saltire in the canton. It is illustrated in a small pamphlet on flags produced by the Royal United Services Institute in about 1895, written by Rear-Admiral R.M.Blomfield. No indication of the source of the information. A bit suspect in my estimation.
David Prothero, 3 November 1998

In a French flag chart from 1799 called 'Flags of All the Nations' I saw a 'green ensign' with an English flag in the canton (and not the Union Jack as on t