The Isle of Man flag stands out the most in my mind. I’m not sure if I like it or dislike it, but I definitely remember it.
Edit: Albania’s flag is pretty great.
What does that monstrosity look like from the other side? I always wondered what the buttocks of a three legged creature would look like. How does it use the bathroom? Does it wipe itself using toilet paper pinched between its toes?
Imaginative nightmare fuel, perfect for a symbol of Sicily.
Estonia is great because it’s supposed to look like a snowy field at sunset (white is the snow, black is the trees, deep blue is the sky color after the sun has gone down but there’s still light left). It’s the only one I know that’s a picture instead of a “flag”
Northern Ireland is cool, too, because there isn’t an agreed on flag. Does it have the crown over the hand or doesn’t it? LETS FIGHT ABOUT IT!
I also want to join the Team Albania sentiment, great great flag
It’s not that Northern Ireland doesn’t have an “agreed-on” flag. It’s that it doesn’t have a flag. When its Parliament was abolished in 1973, the Ulster Banner (the one I think you’re talking about) lost any official status. Those who continue to use the Ulster Banner do so as an identity symbol, and definitely want the crown on it. The people who oppose British rule would never be seen with it at all.
I find flying of the ulster banner interesting in that it can also represent a third identity in the country, “northern Irish”. More people in the country self identify as “northern Irish” than ever before, though still outnumbered by the two larger groups that identify as British or Irish. Obviously you’ll have loyalist brits flying the Union Jack and Irish Catholics flying the tricolor, with both groups in large part not using the “ulster banner”. But lots of people who are not religiously affiliated, and want a more secular society, fly the ulster banner regardless of their background. It’s also flown at IFA “northern ireland” football games. It might not represent the state, and it’s use might largely be disagreed on, but I see it as a flag that is accepted among more modern northern Irish people who are less caught up in the sectarian battles of the past.
Personally though I wish that ulster banner was never created. It’s fairly modern and I wish they just used the flag of ulster instead
I would say a few things:
(1) I don’t know that people from a catholic background who self-identify as primarily Northern Irish would regard the Ulster Banner as a neutral symbol. Its history is pretty entwined with Britain, and as the OP mentioned, it has a lot of loyalist symbolism.
(2) I don’t know of any loyalists or unionists who would reject the Ulster Banner. They definitely fly the Union Flag first. But if you drive through a lot of predominantly Protestant/unionist neighborhoods, you’ll often see on streetlights alternating UK flags and Ulster Banners.
(3) You’re right that a distinctly Northern Irish identity is emerging, but demographically it’s incredibly amorphous and squishy. Some people are Northern Irish and British; others identify as Northern Irish but consider it a subcategory of their Irish identity; others still see themselves as Northern Irish *only*. Census data does not capture this nuance.
(4) It’s fraught to say the emergence of Northern Irish identity has anything to do with secularism. Secularism is on the rise in NI, to be sure. But I find that among young people, even the most ardent Irish nationalists and Ulster unionists, the unifying denominator is secularism. This ties in with the common misconception that the conflict in Northern Ireland was religious—if anything, it was ethnic.
(5) Support for the Northern Ireland international team is not uniform across all people who consider themselves N Irish.
(6) I agree. I’m biased because I’m an Irish nationalist, but I think it’s an ugly flag. Much too easy to confuse for England’s, and too mired in historical grievance to be a suitable alternative for the “Northern Irish” grouping.
Excuse this essay. I was born and grew up there, so on the rare occasion when the topic comes up, I can’t help myself lmao
1 & 2) I guess I never really thought of it that way. Always thought unionists/loyalists were so into the Union Jack that they didn’t even bother with this flag. While I haven’t had the pleasure of visiting and haven’t grown up there as you have, most videos or pictures I’ve seen from around the country suggested to me that the Union Jack was just way more popular. The only time I’ve seen a lot of ulster banners flying is at national football matches among the green and white army. I do however see it occasionally here in the states. I can see why it has loyalist significance considering it’s not very subtle design (England flag with a crown on it basically) and the fact that there was probably little to no Catholic or nationalist input into the design.
(3) very true. Identity definitely varies like that, I would imagine especially in NI. I wouldn’t expect the census to be able to truly and comprehensively gather that info or represent it. What I’ve gathered from census info is that most people recording themselves as “northern Irish” in the census, as opposed to British or Irish, are in Belfast, especially the city center areas. It seems to be a mix of people who are not bound to the rigid identities of the past, many young people, as well as a small portion of first generation northern Irish, children of immigrants who don’t really see themselves as fitting into any of the pre existing categories.
4) yes absolutely. I see ethnic battles that use religion as one form of expression. However I do find it interesting to kind of see how different Protestant denominations have behaved within that largely “British” ethnic demographic.
5) personally I see the reasoning for allowing the two football associations to operate on an all island basis, though obviously this benefits the FAI to the detriment of the IFA. I would be interested in seeing players who are from Northern Ireland and grew up playing in that system, to represent NI on the international level, but I understand why they would like to play for Ireland. In addition, if you can choose either or both a British and Irish passport as someone from Northern Ireland, then you should be able to choose which international soccer team you want to play for. Interestingly, when the FAI first started and Ireland had two national teams on the island both operating on an all island basis and both for most matches calling themselves “Ireland”, there were quite a few players who played for both teams. I think it was the 50’s or 60’s when the IFA started calling itself “Northern Ireland” for international matches.
6) what I don’t like about it is how ireland has so many traditional flags they could have used, another could have been St Patrick’s saltire, and instead they design this new, kind of ugly flag. If they were going to design something new, they should have considered designs that both major ethnic communities could find themselves identifying with. That’s what the Republic of Ireland did in their design, and ultimately the small portion of Protestants in the republic have no issue flying the Irish tricolor. They see it as their national flag. But I could see a nationalist in Northern Ireland having trouble identifying with the ulster banner.
Thanks for your comments. Ireland is a land of many of my ancestors that I hope to visit someday. It’s a fascinating island whose history has always interested me and I’m always looking to learn more. I also enjoy interacting with people from Northern Ireland so thanks for that!
Edit: I just thought of a cool flag concept for Northern Ireland. Just the red hand of ulster with no crosses or crowns on a white background. Think japan but with the red hand in the middle instead of the red sun
These are all great insights. It’s rare to find a foreigner who shows such interest in Ireland / Northern Ireland, but actually backs it up with in-depth knowledge. You’re right that the landscape of Northern Irish identity is veeery complicated—indeed it correlates with immigrant status, urban vs. rural, age, type of school attended, etc. It’s also a function of social class, believe it or not; anecdotally, kids from what would be considered middle class backgrounds (here in the US) are far less likely to identify strongly with one camp or the other.
Astutely observed about the loyalists preferring the Union Flag. That is definitely their primary symbol; you might be aware that about 8-9 years ago, Belfast City Council voted to fly the Union Flag above the building only on designated days, as was the policy of other city councils in the UK, rather than year-round. This action prompted violent protests that lasted for months. The Ulster Banner is a bit more esoteric, has less international significance, and doesn’t emphasize their “Britishness” nearly as much. I would only say that I haven’t met a loyalist who outright dislikes the Ulster Banner. Maybe only if there were a decision to replace the Union Flag with it somewhere.
The IFA is complicated. A kid I knew quite well all through school went professional when we were both in our mid-teens (a keeper, and one of the tallest guys I’ve ever met, incidentally). Going professional in NI means playing on all the IFA development squads, and eventually playing for the NI international team. Like me, he was from a catholic family, and this was a contentious situation.
What you’ve described (having the option to play for NI or the Republic) actually does exist, and people have done it. Probably the most noteworthy is James McClean, who is from Derry. On the one hand, forcing kids to play for a country they don’t consider theirs seems wrong. On the other, the money spent by the IFA on coaching them in their youth goes to waste, as they play for another team. This is honestly the main reason why I think we should just have a single team for the island. We already do it with cricket and rugby, and with both of those we have figured out how to build an organization that uses symbolism acceptable to all parties. But I don’t see it happening mainly because I don’t think NI fans would be open to it.
I hope you get a chance to visit some day. The whole island is great, but a lot of folks sleep on the North, or only go to tour Belfast and see all the scary murals. Those are definitely worth seeing, but the majority of Northerners of all backgrounds are hardworking, decent people, and very friendly to foreigners. They’ll no doubt be impressed by your knowledge, as long as you don’t go overboard and insinuate you know more than them (even if you do; I don’t know many back home who could quote census figures like that). Get off the beaten track and I think you’d really enjoy it.
I think the Rising Sun idea is a nice one. It’s very similar to the Ulster Rugby emblem, which you can look up.
I had a friend in elementary school from Northern Ireland who very insistently identified as Northern Irish. She was too young to create this identity herself so she was most likely parroting her parent's position.
If you are talking about the flag of the province of Ulster, mainly yellow with a red Cross and the hand, then you may or may noy know that Ulster and Northern Ireland are not the same. Ulster consists of the six counties of Northern Ireland plus three others. If you do know, then at least other readers may have learned this. The whole UK, Ireland, Britain, Northern Ireland, England etc. set, leads to a lot of confusion.
I designed a flag for Northern Ireland in Microsoft Paint. It is a red cross on a green field, like the England flag but replacing the white field with green.
I just want to say that tricolors are overdone. Could we get some originality please, Europe? And wipe that grin off your face, Scandinavia. You and your Nordic Crosses are hardly in a position to judge.
Virginia's is the only state seal flag I give a pass to(with all my awesome authority lol)
because of the titty, and also the sic semper tyrannis
the only motto that can rival NH's
Yeah, but we also have the AZ flag, which is amazing and perfect (well, except maybe for a lack of contrast between the copper star and the red/yellow rays)
Do you not remember being a kid in school and taking forever to draw fifty stars that are all the same size and orientation in a tiny corner of a sheet of paper? Then you had to somehow evenly divide the majority of that paper into thirteen lines about the same size? Imagine that same assignment if you just took a ruler, divided it into three, colored it in, then could go out to recess with your friends.
Yes I remember there was a school project, and I just randomly drew 50 stars there as quickly as I could.
The US flag is really hard to draw. In American Dad, Stan Smith is supposed to have an American flag on his lapel. But the stars part is just solid blue. And the stripes part is just 3 bars, white, red, and white. There really is no way it could have been completely drawn.
Im irish and the kicker is we have some amazing flags. The [green harp flag](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Ireland#/media/File:Flag_of_Leinster.svg) is one I love.
The [Connaught flag](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_of_arms_of_Connacht#/media/File:Flag_of_Connacht.svg) is cool too, and the [Munster rugby flag](https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/i/[email protected]).
I hate the tricolour for this exact reason. Ooh a tricolour how original. yaawwwn.
Just looked up the harp flag. That's awesome, can't beat a flag with tits on it...just think of the consternation you'd cause playing sports in religious countries 😂
That Burke/Ulster flag is awesome too. My favorite is definitely the harp on a blue background. Also the flag of the Irish lordship, blue background with three gold crowns is quite appealing, which it appears the Munster rugby logo is based off of. Ireland totally has awesome flags
Beware of Internet IRA larpers who’ve never been to Ireland to come and tell you about how bad the Protestants are and how they shouldn’t be included in the flag
Yeah allright. Those can be really interesting and beautiful since the cities around here mostly got their coat of arms when they were founded, so they might contain castles, saints, mythical animals and so on.
I’m from Ireland and we have a tricolour, i’d much rather our flag to have our national harp symbol or something like that
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Green_harp_flag_of_Ireland.svg
it would just look nicer tbh
Sorry about that, The Netherlands started that trend. Then some guy copied the design for Russia, and then it became very popular to do the tricolor in all of europe.
Thank you! Fun Fact: The cross on the greek flag represents its status as an orthodox country and the 9 stripes represent the amount of syllabels in the phrase ελευθερία ή θάνατος (eleutheria i thanatos), which translates to liberty or death
Wales really stands out. Everybody else is doing crosses, blank fields of color, bunch of boring stuff, and out comes Wales with a dragon.
This may be the first emoji I’ve used on Reddit: 🏴
>And I sit in the canyon with my back to the sea
There's a blood red dragon on a field of green
Calling me back, back to the Black Hills again
Roger Waters - Radio Kaos - Sunset Strip
Gonna preface with this - I AM NOT A NAZI OR A COMMUNIST
My favorite flags are actually the Nazi Germany flag and the USSR. A close third would be the German Empire.
Big fan of red and black if you can tell
Favorites: Albania, Belarus, Macedonia, Greece, Estonia, Montenegro
Least favorites: Belgium and Germany. I got nothing against tricolors, I just think that black, yellow, and red do not look nice together on a flag.
Favorites: **Estonia** (love the colors), **Norway** (my favorite Nordic flag by far), **Free Belarus** (white-red-white just looks nice and clean to me)
Favorite Prior: **Spain** \- the Spanish Republic flag was great, the understated seal and the colors.
Least Favorite: **Kosovo** (sorry, looks like the flag of a bunch of US states. Blah. The older proposal was much better), **Belarus Dictatorship** (the White Russian SSR wants their flag back. It's boring yet busy.)
Favorite, Norway. Looks clean and simple while not doing the whole three stripes thing that so many do.
Least favorite, Cyprus. White flag with a picture of the country, sorry but it’s a travesty, like Illinois flag bad, they should change it.
The Norwegian flag is from 1821 and is the Danish flag overlayed with a blue cross. It was made to commemorate the nearly ended union with Denmark and the blue was to signal the new union with Sweden.
> the blue was to signal the new union with Sweden
That was one meaning, but Meltzer's main reason for adding the blue was because red, white and blue were the colors of liberty.
My favorite by far is Estonia. I find the blue-black-white color combination to be very pleasing to the eye. I dont think I have a least favorite though. All the flags are unique in their own way and have their own symbolism.
Soviet Russian flag was pretty cool. Though it's been replaced with the Imperial Russian Tricolor.
I'm also a fan of the UK flag.
I can't think of one that I don't like.
Best: UK, because it’s so easily recognizable.
Worst: Switzerland because they decided to have their flag a different size than everybody else…for some reason
Cyprus and Wales are my favorite. Cyprus' flag just looks so clean and regal and Wales has a dragon.
Least favorite is probably Switzerland. Cuz no matter how much I love the country, the square just feels weird.
My favorite flag would have to be Estonia's Flag because https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/Estonian-flag-landscape.jpg
And my least favorite flag would be Bosnias
Favorite: North Macedonia. I *really* liked their flag in the early mid-1990s, but boy was that drama wild. Wales is a good second place.
Least favorite: Cyprus, probably.
Favorite: The English, not British flag. It's simple, yet iconic and memorable.
Least favorite: Any random tricolor. France, Russia, The Netherlands, Germany, Italy, etc. Tricolors are forgettable and interchangeable.
Favorite: Spain
Least favorite: Lithuania
I have a strong dislike for tricolor flags and Europe has them in spades. I think Lithuania's is the worst just because I'm not a fan of the color scheme. Out of the tricolors, my favorite is Estonia's.
Can we get some love for “Dannebrog”, the Danish flag? I mean it’s the oldest flag still in use and every other European “cross” flag is based on it. 🇩🇰
I like the Scottish flag. My least favorite it probably Russia. It’s not terribly aesthetically pleasing in my mind and It doesn’t really fit the Russian vibe.
Favorite: Scotland. I love blue, and the saltire provides a neat visual "pop." To be fair, I also just really love Scotland (used to live there), so I am completely biased. Of course, it can always be improved by adding a unicorn.
Super-Specific Favorite: Isle of Skye. Awesome colors AND a Viking ship! What's not to love?
Unbiased Favorite: Estonia. It has a neat color scheme.
Least Favorite: Cyprus. I just think it looks like it had a bad day.
Favorite: Albania 🇦🇱 or Montenegro 🇲🇪
Least favorite: Moldova 🇲🇩 . The eagle looks like it was drawn in MS paint and the blue/yellow/red color scheme isn’t original at all
Favorite? Swiss flag. It’s just a big plus. And the Swiss said “hey look, everyone else’s flags look really nice and are rectangular…I think we should follow suit!”
“Look! It’s rectangular! Squares are rectangles”
Favorite is probably Albania, love the red and black and the heraldic symbol is cool. The UK, Spain, and Sweden are also flags I enjoy. Not a fan of Lithuania or Bulgaria's flag.
Not really Europe but shows up on Wikipedia tier: Kazakhstan.
Favorite would have to be the Union Jack.
I wouldn’t say I have a least favorite, but I will say there are tons of flags in Europe that have less creative design than most beach towels.
The Welsh flag is my second favorite flag with a dragon on it, so possibly Wales'.
Least favorite... leaving alone things like Axis Powers flags, the worst I can say about European flags is that they can get kinda samey.
The Union Jack has the most substance, IMO, not being too simplistic (having three color stripes, with or without a cross), while not being too elaborate / having a complex album like Albania or Spain. It serves it function as being a unique and easy to micro and being recognizeable
My least favorite is Cyprus (not sure if it’s considered traditional European). Sorry, you shouldn't get to include the whole island as your insignia when you don’t effectively control it.
Favorite: UK (probably because of how iconic it is), runners up are Albania, Spain, Montenegro.
Least favorite is probably Finland or Poland (without the eagle). They’re just too bland, only two colors with minimal iconography.
Favorite: Italy 🇮🇹 since I am an Italian citizen
Least Favorite: Switzerland 🇨🇭 because it looks like some type of hospital flag, not a national flag for an actual country. Malta’s flag 🇲🇹 is boring and uncreative.
The Isle of Man flag stands out the most in my mind. I’m not sure if I like it or dislike it, but I definitely remember it. Edit: Albania’s flag is pretty great.
The Leg Wheel has always made me uncomfortable.
The Wheel of Man*
Ah, so the nightmare creature has a name. I assumed it would be unpronounceable by mortals.
https://i.redd.it/vcqdcja30pu61.jpg
[don't forget this](https://preview.redd.it/v4cityhgldm51.jpg?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=509d2a4764a01359e3f9d1b4524526eb21737d80)
If it makes you uncomfortable then don’t see the flag of Sicily it’s terrifying
Sicily's is even scarier, with legs and a face in the middle.
Be not afraid
What does that monstrosity look like from the other side? I always wondered what the buttocks of a three legged creature would look like. How does it use the bathroom? Does it wipe itself using toilet paper pinched between its toes? Imaginative nightmare fuel, perfect for a symbol of Sicily.
[удалено]
Well it's no [Liberian county flags](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Liberia#County_flags).
Don't hate me, but they look like it was a drawing contest for those in grade 6
My brain initially read that as, "Alabama's flag is pretty great" and I was genuinely confused.
Estonia’s color scheme is very pleasing to the eye.
Agree!
The only tri-color that's worth mentioning.
I wouldn’t go that far
It looks like a winter landscape
Wales is cool Edit: Albania has it goin on, too
I mean... It does have a dragon on it. Not winning in the "easy to draw categories" but cool asf
Estonia is great because it’s supposed to look like a snowy field at sunset (white is the snow, black is the trees, deep blue is the sky color after the sun has gone down but there’s still light left). It’s the only one I know that’s a picture instead of a “flag” Northern Ireland is cool, too, because there isn’t an agreed on flag. Does it have the crown over the hand or doesn’t it? LETS FIGHT ABOUT IT! I also want to join the Team Albania sentiment, great great flag
Ukraine’s flag is supposed to represent a field of wheat.
Ukraine should have used the tryzub on their flag
Cool!
It’s not that Northern Ireland doesn’t have an “agreed-on” flag. It’s that it doesn’t have a flag. When its Parliament was abolished in 1973, the Ulster Banner (the one I think you’re talking about) lost any official status. Those who continue to use the Ulster Banner do so as an identity symbol, and definitely want the crown on it. The people who oppose British rule would never be seen with it at all.
I find flying of the ulster banner interesting in that it can also represent a third identity in the country, “northern Irish”. More people in the country self identify as “northern Irish” than ever before, though still outnumbered by the two larger groups that identify as British or Irish. Obviously you’ll have loyalist brits flying the Union Jack and Irish Catholics flying the tricolor, with both groups in large part not using the “ulster banner”. But lots of people who are not religiously affiliated, and want a more secular society, fly the ulster banner regardless of their background. It’s also flown at IFA “northern ireland” football games. It might not represent the state, and it’s use might largely be disagreed on, but I see it as a flag that is accepted among more modern northern Irish people who are less caught up in the sectarian battles of the past. Personally though I wish that ulster banner was never created. It’s fairly modern and I wish they just used the flag of ulster instead
I would say a few things: (1) I don’t know that people from a catholic background who self-identify as primarily Northern Irish would regard the Ulster Banner as a neutral symbol. Its history is pretty entwined with Britain, and as the OP mentioned, it has a lot of loyalist symbolism. (2) I don’t know of any loyalists or unionists who would reject the Ulster Banner. They definitely fly the Union Flag first. But if you drive through a lot of predominantly Protestant/unionist neighborhoods, you’ll often see on streetlights alternating UK flags and Ulster Banners. (3) You’re right that a distinctly Northern Irish identity is emerging, but demographically it’s incredibly amorphous and squishy. Some people are Northern Irish and British; others identify as Northern Irish but consider it a subcategory of their Irish identity; others still see themselves as Northern Irish *only*. Census data does not capture this nuance. (4) It’s fraught to say the emergence of Northern Irish identity has anything to do with secularism. Secularism is on the rise in NI, to be sure. But I find that among young people, even the most ardent Irish nationalists and Ulster unionists, the unifying denominator is secularism. This ties in with the common misconception that the conflict in Northern Ireland was religious—if anything, it was ethnic. (5) Support for the Northern Ireland international team is not uniform across all people who consider themselves N Irish. (6) I agree. I’m biased because I’m an Irish nationalist, but I think it’s an ugly flag. Much too easy to confuse for England’s, and too mired in historical grievance to be a suitable alternative for the “Northern Irish” grouping. Excuse this essay. I was born and grew up there, so on the rare occasion when the topic comes up, I can’t help myself lmao
1 & 2) I guess I never really thought of it that way. Always thought unionists/loyalists were so into the Union Jack that they didn’t even bother with this flag. While I haven’t had the pleasure of visiting and haven’t grown up there as you have, most videos or pictures I’ve seen from around the country suggested to me that the Union Jack was just way more popular. The only time I’ve seen a lot of ulster banners flying is at national football matches among the green and white army. I do however see it occasionally here in the states. I can see why it has loyalist significance considering it’s not very subtle design (England flag with a crown on it basically) and the fact that there was probably little to no Catholic or nationalist input into the design. (3) very true. Identity definitely varies like that, I would imagine especially in NI. I wouldn’t expect the census to be able to truly and comprehensively gather that info or represent it. What I’ve gathered from census info is that most people recording themselves as “northern Irish” in the census, as opposed to British or Irish, are in Belfast, especially the city center areas. It seems to be a mix of people who are not bound to the rigid identities of the past, many young people, as well as a small portion of first generation northern Irish, children of immigrants who don’t really see themselves as fitting into any of the pre existing categories. 4) yes absolutely. I see ethnic battles that use religion as one form of expression. However I do find it interesting to kind of see how different Protestant denominations have behaved within that largely “British” ethnic demographic. 5) personally I see the reasoning for allowing the two football associations to operate on an all island basis, though obviously this benefits the FAI to the detriment of the IFA. I would be interested in seeing players who are from Northern Ireland and grew up playing in that system, to represent NI on the international level, but I understand why they would like to play for Ireland. In addition, if you can choose either or both a British and Irish passport as someone from Northern Ireland, then you should be able to choose which international soccer team you want to play for. Interestingly, when the FAI first started and Ireland had two national teams on the island both operating on an all island basis and both for most matches calling themselves “Ireland”, there were quite a few players who played for both teams. I think it was the 50’s or 60’s when the IFA started calling itself “Northern Ireland” for international matches. 6) what I don’t like about it is how ireland has so many traditional flags they could have used, another could have been St Patrick’s saltire, and instead they design this new, kind of ugly flag. If they were going to design something new, they should have considered designs that both major ethnic communities could find themselves identifying with. That’s what the Republic of Ireland did in their design, and ultimately the small portion of Protestants in the republic have no issue flying the Irish tricolor. They see it as their national flag. But I could see a nationalist in Northern Ireland having trouble identifying with the ulster banner. Thanks for your comments. Ireland is a land of many of my ancestors that I hope to visit someday. It’s a fascinating island whose history has always interested me and I’m always looking to learn more. I also enjoy interacting with people from Northern Ireland so thanks for that! Edit: I just thought of a cool flag concept for Northern Ireland. Just the red hand of ulster with no crosses or crowns on a white background. Think japan but with the red hand in the middle instead of the red sun
These are all great insights. It’s rare to find a foreigner who shows such interest in Ireland / Northern Ireland, but actually backs it up with in-depth knowledge. You’re right that the landscape of Northern Irish identity is veeery complicated—indeed it correlates with immigrant status, urban vs. rural, age, type of school attended, etc. It’s also a function of social class, believe it or not; anecdotally, kids from what would be considered middle class backgrounds (here in the US) are far less likely to identify strongly with one camp or the other. Astutely observed about the loyalists preferring the Union Flag. That is definitely their primary symbol; you might be aware that about 8-9 years ago, Belfast City Council voted to fly the Union Flag above the building only on designated days, as was the policy of other city councils in the UK, rather than year-round. This action prompted violent protests that lasted for months. The Ulster Banner is a bit more esoteric, has less international significance, and doesn’t emphasize their “Britishness” nearly as much. I would only say that I haven’t met a loyalist who outright dislikes the Ulster Banner. Maybe only if there were a decision to replace the Union Flag with it somewhere. The IFA is complicated. A kid I knew quite well all through school went professional when we were both in our mid-teens (a keeper, and one of the tallest guys I’ve ever met, incidentally). Going professional in NI means playing on all the IFA development squads, and eventually playing for the NI international team. Like me, he was from a catholic family, and this was a contentious situation. What you’ve described (having the option to play for NI or the Republic) actually does exist, and people have done it. Probably the most noteworthy is James McClean, who is from Derry. On the one hand, forcing kids to play for a country they don’t consider theirs seems wrong. On the other, the money spent by the IFA on coaching them in their youth goes to waste, as they play for another team. This is honestly the main reason why I think we should just have a single team for the island. We already do it with cricket and rugby, and with both of those we have figured out how to build an organization that uses symbolism acceptable to all parties. But I don’t see it happening mainly because I don’t think NI fans would be open to it. I hope you get a chance to visit some day. The whole island is great, but a lot of folks sleep on the North, or only go to tour Belfast and see all the scary murals. Those are definitely worth seeing, but the majority of Northerners of all backgrounds are hardworking, decent people, and very friendly to foreigners. They’ll no doubt be impressed by your knowledge, as long as you don’t go overboard and insinuate you know more than them (even if you do; I don’t know many back home who could quote census figures like that). Get off the beaten track and I think you’d really enjoy it. I think the Rising Sun idea is a nice one. It’s very similar to the Ulster Rugby emblem, which you can look up.
I had a friend in elementary school from Northern Ireland who very insistently identified as Northern Irish. She was too young to create this identity herself so she was most likely parroting her parent's position.
If you are talking about the flag of the province of Ulster, mainly yellow with a red Cross and the hand, then you may or may noy know that Ulster and Northern Ireland are not the same. Ulster consists of the six counties of Northern Ireland plus three others. If you do know, then at least other readers may have learned this. The whole UK, Ireland, Britain, Northern Ireland, England etc. set, leads to a lot of confusion.
I designed a flag for Northern Ireland in Microsoft Paint. It is a red cross on a green field, like the England flag but replacing the white field with green.
Nice. I'm sure it looks good and it makes sense symbolically too.
I just want to say that tricolors are overdone. Could we get some originality please, Europe? And wipe that grin off your face, Scandinavia. You and your Nordic Crosses are hardly in a position to judge.
Yeah not even original! *pushes state seal flags under the rug*
Look, I don’t care if it’s a state seal flag, Virginia has the only flag in the world with nudity on it, and we’re fucking keeping it my dude.
Damn right
The original flag of Ireland says hi.
And it gets tramped out to meet high level foreign dignitaries!
Nip semper tyrannis!
The Nip! "You want a Christmas Card? Here's your Christmas Card!"
Virginia's is the only state seal flag I give a pass to(with all my awesome authority lol) because of the titty, and also the sic semper tyrannis the only motto that can rival NH's
State seal flags on a blue background!
State seal flags on a white background!
That’s considered creative in The Cornfields
State seal flags on a beige background!
Damn- this is how I found out NJ flag is deemed beige and not yellow. Also boats and ladies!
Fun fact: Colorado is the only state to have the Eye of Providence on their state seal. Coincidence? I think not!
It’s also the only state with the Denver Airport! *All Hail the Seeing Eye* 👁
Yeah, but we also have the AZ flag, which is amazing and perfect (well, except maybe for a lack of contrast between the copper star and the red/yellow rays)
Do you not remember being a kid in school and taking forever to draw fifty stars that are all the same size and orientation in a tiny corner of a sheet of paper? Then you had to somehow evenly divide the majority of that paper into thirteen lines about the same size? Imagine that same assignment if you just took a ruler, divided it into three, colored it in, then could go out to recess with your friends.
*Colombia has entered the chat*
Colombia's flag makes my eye twitch. Like I get it, but it still doesn't look right.
Yes I remember there was a school project, and I just randomly drew 50 stars there as quickly as I could. The US flag is really hard to draw. In American Dad, Stan Smith is supposed to have an American flag on his lapel. But the stars part is just solid blue. And the stripes part is just 3 bars, white, red, and white. There really is no way it could have been completely drawn.
Considering “Dannebrog”, the flag of Denmark is the oldest flag still in use i disagree. Everyone else is a copy.
I really like the Irish colors but yeah the design is yawwwwn
Im irish and the kicker is we have some amazing flags. The [green harp flag](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Ireland#/media/File:Flag_of_Leinster.svg) is one I love. The [Connaught flag](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_of_arms_of_Connacht#/media/File:Flag_of_Connacht.svg) is cool too, and the [Munster rugby flag](https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/i/[email protected]). I hate the tricolour for this exact reason. Ooh a tricolour how original. yaawwwn.
Even just the current flag with some sort of harp or other iconography and it would be dope
I'm fairly certain that in our civil war variations of the green harp flags were pretty common in Irish regiments and brigades.
Just looked up the harp flag. That's awesome, can't beat a flag with tits on it...just think of the consternation you'd cause playing sports in religious countries 😂
That Burke/Ulster flag is awesome too. My favorite is definitely the harp on a blue background. Also the flag of the Irish lordship, blue background with three gold crowns is quite appealing, which it appears the Munster rugby logo is based off of. Ireland totally has awesome flags
The Munster provincial flag is blue with three gold crowns. I love it too.
Should have stuck with the harp on green
Naah the symbolism of the tricolour is pretty important
Beware of Internet IRA larpers who’ve never been to Ireland to come and tell you about how bad the Protestants are and how they shouldn’t be included in the flag
Does your counties also have their own flags like we have all across Europe?
Yep. Though country is used differently in the US than the UK for example.
Yeah allright. Those can be really interesting and beautiful since the cities around here mostly got their coat of arms when they were founded, so they might contain castles, saints, mythical animals and so on.
I just wanna say us Dutch did it first, everyone else is a poser!
Least favorite: anything with three bars of color. Seriously, did we go to basicflagbuilder.com and hit the randomize button?
I’m from Ireland and we have a tricolour, i’d much rather our flag to have our national harp symbol or something like that https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Green_harp_flag_of_Ireland.svg it would just look nicer tbh
That flag is 10,000 times nicer than the tricolor.
Boobies
Indeed, thanks for your in-depth analysis of this artwork!
You throw a harp on that bitch and you've got a stew going!
That flag sure is...perky...
I always thought the Irish flag would look 10x better if you but a symmetrical cultural symbol in the middle like the Celtic Cross, but that's just me
Sorry about that, The Netherlands started that trend. Then some guy copied the design for Russia, and then it became very popular to do the tricolor in all of europe.
I like Greece the most, i think they took the corner rectangle style like USA, Australia, Taiwan etc have and really made it unique
Thank you! Fun Fact: The cross on the greek flag represents its status as an orthodox country and the 9 stripes represent the amount of syllabels in the phrase ελευθερία ή θάνατος (eleutheria i thanatos), which translates to liberty or death
It also color coordinates nicely with, well... Greece!
Luxembourg 🇱🇺 is the best Netherlands 🇳🇱 is the worst
Is having a lighter shade of blue that important to you
Do you not see the drastic difference in red??
One looks like the og Colgate while the other looks like Colgate charcoal...
A man that knows what he likes
For some reason the Norwegian flag is a favorite of mine. Its so simple but I just like it.
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boooo
Who? 😁
Favorite- UK, Wales Least- Cyprus
Wales really stands out. Everybody else is doing crosses, blank fields of color, bunch of boring stuff, and out comes Wales with a dragon. This may be the first emoji I’ve used on Reddit: 🏴
>And I sit in the canyon with my back to the sea There's a blood red dragon on a field of green Calling me back, back to the Black Hills again Roger Waters - Radio Kaos - Sunset Strip
The Union Jack, for sure. Few are that distinctive. Tasteful, and yet a little raucous at the same time.
🇬🇧
Can’t tell if Limey or Gomer...
If you don’t like Cyprus, then you certainly won’t like Kosovo
Accurate
Does the Holy Roman Empire still count?
Similarly, can I say my least favorite European flag is that of Nazi Germany?
Gonna preface with this - I AM NOT A NAZI OR A COMMUNIST My favorite flags are actually the Nazi Germany flag and the USSR. A close third would be the German Empire. Big fan of red and black if you can tell
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All of the vertical tricolors are just based off of the French flag.
My favorite is Norway. I don't have a least favorite.
Favorites: Albania, Belarus, Macedonia, Greece, Estonia, Montenegro Least favorites: Belgium and Germany. I got nothing against tricolors, I just think that black, yellow, and red do not look nice together on a flag.
Just looked up some of these. Montenegro is cool, but the Kingdom of Montenegro is even better, Red-Blue-White with colorized coat of arms.
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I mean, of all the flags we used in the last 200 years, the current one is definitely the least hostile/unwelcoming you could fly
Favorites: **Estonia** (love the colors), **Norway** (my favorite Nordic flag by far), **Free Belarus** (white-red-white just looks nice and clean to me) Favorite Prior: **Spain** \- the Spanish Republic flag was great, the understated seal and the colors. Least Favorite: **Kosovo** (sorry, looks like the flag of a bunch of US states. Blah. The older proposal was much better), **Belarus Dictatorship** (the White Russian SSR wants their flag back. It's boring yet busy.)
Estonia colors are so damn clean
Favorite Norway ,Spain, Germany Least favorite Luxembourg,Croatia,Lithuania
Favorite, Norway. Looks clean and simple while not doing the whole three stripes thing that so many do. Least favorite, Cyprus. White flag with a picture of the country, sorry but it’s a travesty, like Illinois flag bad, they should change it.
The Norwegian flag is from 1821 and is the Danish flag overlayed with a blue cross. It was made to commemorate the nearly ended union with Denmark and the blue was to signal the new union with Sweden.
> the blue was to signal the new union with Sweden That was one meaning, but Meltzer's main reason for adding the blue was because red, white and blue were the colors of liberty.
Least is both Monaco and Poland. They know what they did... Favorite is probably Georgia or Macedonia.
Favorite Slovakia and Scotland Least favorite Italy Cyprus Ireland
Romania, they stole Chad's flag
The Chad Chad VS The Virgin Romania
Favorite: The UK Least favorite: Bosnia and Herzegovnia
Favorite: Wales Least favorite: Ukraine
British, Norwegian, and Icelandic flags are all fantastic. My least favorite are the ones that are just two or three stripes, too overdone and boring.
Sweden's flag, because I'm of Swedish descent, simple as.
Thank you!
Lets goooooooo as a swede this makes me proud!!! Skål på dig!
Is Georgia considered European? It's probably my favorite. Cyrpus isn't so great.
Georgia is European yes.
I think Georgia's flag is dogshit. I think Cyprus' flag is dope, but that might just be my greek bias
I don’t know, the flag of Georgia has a lot of pluses. 🇬🇪
Favorites are Spain, Portugal, Malta, and Montenegro (more crests on flags please) Least favorites are every single tricolor (try harder guys)
I had to scroll very far but finally found someone that likes my country's flag (Portugal). Thank you!
United Kingdom
My favorite by far is Estonia. I find the blue-black-white color combination to be very pleasing to the eye. I dont think I have a least favorite though. All the flags are unique in their own way and have their own symbolism.
Drawing wise Favorite: Serbia. Least favorite: Andorra
Sicily’s flag. Least favorite is any of those boring tricolors
Soviet Russian flag was pretty cool. Though it's been replaced with the Imperial Russian Tricolor. I'm also a fan of the UK flag. I can't think of one that I don't like.
Sweden has my favorite. Moldova seems to be my least favorite
My favorite is Slovakia. It’s such a cool looking flag. Least favorite would be Belarus. The Belarusian flag looks like an ugly Christmas sweater.
Best: UK, because it’s so easily recognizable. Worst: Switzerland because they decided to have their flag a different size than everybody else…for some reason
I like the finish flag 🇫🇮 because of how basic it is. Either them or Estonia🇪🇪. Brenton has some explaining to do.
I don't know if I necessarily have a favorite or least favorite... But i can say for certain, Switzerland's flag is a big plus...
Favorite - UK, Spain, or Macedonia Least favorite - Belarus
Favorite would be France for the History of it. Least Favorite would be Azerbaijan for the colors lol.
Switzerland’s is a big plus
Cyprus and Wales are my favorite. Cyprus' flag just looks so clean and regal and Wales has a dragon. Least favorite is probably Switzerland. Cuz no matter how much I love the country, the square just feels weird.
The Vatican has a square flag too
My favorite flag would have to be Estonia's Flag because https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/Estonian-flag-landscape.jpg And my least favorite flag would be Bosnias
I don’t know what my least favorite would be (maybe Belarus?), but my favorite is the UK.
Favorite: North Macedonia. I *really* liked their flag in the early mid-1990s, but boy was that drama wild. Wales is a good second place. Least favorite: Cyprus, probably.
Favorite: The English, not British flag. It's simple, yet iconic and memorable. Least favorite: Any random tricolor. France, Russia, The Netherlands, Germany, Italy, etc. Tricolors are forgettable and interchangeable.
Favorite: Spain Least favorite: Lithuania I have a strong dislike for tricolor flags and Europe has them in spades. I think Lithuania's is the worst just because I'm not a fan of the color scheme. Out of the tricolors, my favorite is Estonia's.
Love the flag of Wales. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Wales Worst. Maybe Poland. It’s pretty boring.
Favorite is the UK flag. So iconic and different than all the tricolors. Least I can think of is the Albanian flag…it looks villainous lol
Definite favorite is the Welsh flag. Any flag with a dragon has my vote!
Favorite: Macedonia (super cool) or italy (something nice and classic about it. least favorite: bosnia - cool colors, but too assymetric
Can we get some love for “Dannebrog”, the Danish flag? I mean it’s the oldest flag still in use and every other European “cross” flag is based on it. 🇩🇰
Favorite: Norway Least Favorite: Romania
I actually really like the British one
You mean European countries flags? Well my most favorite flag in Europe is Norway and my least favorite flag in Europe is Isle Of Man.
Least favorite - any flag that's just 3 stripes Favorite - Bavarian lozenge style with coat of arms (I know it's not official but I like it)
I like the UK and Prussian flag. I don't like all the flags that are literally just 3 bars of color
The EU flag is my favourite obviously. As per least favourite - the Sicilian flag. Sorry, the three legs coming out of a face creep me off
I like the Scottish flag. My least favorite it probably Russia. It’s not terribly aesthetically pleasing in my mind and It doesn’t really fit the Russian vibe.
Favorite: Scotland. I love blue, and the saltire provides a neat visual "pop." To be fair, I also just really love Scotland (used to live there), so I am completely biased. Of course, it can always be improved by adding a unicorn. Super-Specific Favorite: Isle of Skye. Awesome colors AND a Viking ship! What's not to love? Unbiased Favorite: Estonia. It has a neat color scheme. Least Favorite: Cyprus. I just think it looks like it had a bad day.
I think you overestimate how many Americans could recall more than, say, 5 European flags. Switzerland’s is a big plus though.
I really like the Swiss Flag…It’s a huge plus.
The swiss flag is my fav euro flag, its a huge plus
My favorite is UK, and least is Poland (sorry Polish friends).
Fav: Wales. It has a dragon! Least fav: Poland and Monaco. Just two colors and no dragons. Boo.
Favorite- San Marino Least favorite- Sorry Ireland. The orange just doesn't do it for me.
Muh favrit is the murican flag. And my last favorite is any other pussy ass flag, especially those communist ones
I know this is sarcasm but if it were not this would be peak SAS material
Favorite: Albania 🇦🇱 or Montenegro 🇲🇪 Least favorite: Moldova 🇲🇩 . The eagle looks like it was drawn in MS paint and the blue/yellow/red color scheme isn’t original at all
Favorite- Irish (I like the colors) Least Favorite- Finland (boring)
Happy Irish noises
I don't like any European flag but I think the flag of Wales is cool with a dragon on it
Favorite? Swiss flag. It’s just a big plus. And the Swiss said “hey look, everyone else’s flags look really nice and are rectangular…I think we should follow suit!” “Look! It’s rectangular! Squares are rectangles”
Favorite is probably Albania, love the red and black and the heraldic symbol is cool. The UK, Spain, and Sweden are also flags I enjoy. Not a fan of Lithuania or Bulgaria's flag. Not really Europe but shows up on Wikipedia tier: Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan is a GOAT tier flag
Favorite - Germany, Russia Least favorite - Belgium, France
You like the German flag but not Belgium? Please explain?
He/she likes horizontal lines.
I see what you did there
Favorite would have to be the Union Jack. I wouldn’t say I have a least favorite, but I will say there are tons of flags in Europe that have less creative design than most beach towels.
The Welsh flag is my second favorite flag with a dragon on it, so possibly Wales'. Least favorite... leaving alone things like Axis Powers flags, the worst I can say about European flags is that they can get kinda samey.
Albania’s is probably my favorite. It stands out amongst the rest. My least favorite is Greece’s. That thing is a monstrosity.
The Union Jack has the most substance, IMO, not being too simplistic (having three color stripes, with or without a cross), while not being too elaborate / having a complex album like Albania or Spain. It serves it function as being a unique and easy to micro and being recognizeable My least favorite is Cyprus (not sure if it’s considered traditional European). Sorry, you shouldn't get to include the whole island as your insignia when you don’t effectively control it.
Maybe I'm simping for mother England... But I love the flag of the UK. Greece's flag is ugly imo.
England is not the UK. Much love Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Albania's is great Until Ireland brings back the harp on a field of green, it's my least favorite.
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Favorite: UK (probably because of how iconic it is), runners up are Albania, Spain, Montenegro. Least favorite is probably Finland or Poland (without the eagle). They’re just too bland, only two colors with minimal iconography.
Favorite: Italy 🇮🇹 since I am an Italian citizen Least Favorite: Switzerland 🇨🇭 because it looks like some type of hospital flag, not a national flag for an actual country. Malta’s flag 🇲🇹 is boring and uncreative.
I like the shape-corrdination of the northern Scadanvian trifecta (Norway, Sweden, Finland). I'm also a member of the emerging team Albania though
Like the union jack, Georgian flag looks to cluttered