Saint Patrick's Saltire
Saint Patrick's Saltire, a red saltire on a white field, was used from 1783 in the badge of the Order of Saint Patrick. After the Acts of Union 1800, the saltire was added to the former flag of the Kingdom of Great Britain to represent Ireland in the new United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It is sometimes used informally to represent Northern Ireland. In 1986, government policy during state visits to London was to fly the crosses of George, Andrew and Patrick and the Welsh Dragon. The government clarified that the Union Flag was the flag of Northern Ireland, not the Saint Patrick's Saltire or the Ulster Banner. In 2008, David McNarry suggested it should be allowed in Northern Irish number plates analogous to the flags allowed on English, Scottish, and Welsh plates. The barge Gloriana during the 2012 Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant flew flags for the four 'home nations' of the United Kingdom, including the Saint Patrick's Cross for Northern Ireland.
Read more about this topic: Flag Of Northern Ireland
Famous quotes containing the words saint and/or patrick:
“Upon Saint Crispin’s day
Fought was this noble fray,
Which fame did not delay
To England to carry.
On when shall Englishmen
With such acts fill a pen,
Or England breed again
Such a King Harry?”
—Michael Drayton (1563–1631)
“One of your biggest jobs as a parent of multiples is no bigger than simply talking to your children individually and requiring that they respond to you individually as well. The benefits of this kind of communication can be enormous, in terms of the relationship you develop with each child, in terms of their language development, and eventually in terms of their sense of individuality, too.”
—Pamela Patrick Novotny (20th century)