History
A silver stringed golden harp on a green background has long done duty as the arms of the province of Leinster. Possibly the oldest and certainly the most celebrated instance of the use of the harp device on a green field was the flag of Eoghan Ruadh Ó Néill. Eoghan Ruadh, nephew of Aodh, Earl of Tyrone, had, as a young man, after his uncle’s defeat at Kinsale in 1601, entered the Spanish Service where he rose to prominence in the army of that country. In 1642 he returned to Ireland to assist the Irish Confederation in the war that broke out the previous year. It is recorded that his ship, the St Francis, as she lay at anchor at Dunkirk, flew from her mast top ‘the Irish harp in a green field, in a flag’. Because the Confederation’s headquarters were located in Kilkenny, the principal city of Leinster ‘without the pale, his flag must have had a special significance for that province. Moreover, the Confederation seal incorporated, among a number of other motifs, a representation of the Irish harp. When Eoghan Ruadh died in 1649 the hopes of the Irish Confederation died with him. His flag, however, lives on to the present day in the form of the arms of Leinster: vert a harp or stringed argent. Possibly the oldest instance of the use of the harp device on a green field was the flag of Owen Roe O'Neill. Owen Roe, nephew of Hugh, had entered the Spanish service after his uncle's defeat at Kinsale in 1601. Owen rose to prominence in the Spanish army, and in 1642 returned to Ireland to assist the Irish Confederation in the war that broke out the previous year. It is recorded that his ship, the St Francis, as she lay at anchor at Dunkirk, flew from her mast top "the Irish harp in a green field, in a flag". Because the confederation's headquarters were located in Kilkenny – the principal city of Leinster "without the pale" – his flag may have had a special significance for that province. The Confederation seal also incorporated, among a number of other motifs, a representation of the Irish harp.
Read more about this topic: Flag Of Leinster
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