St. Patrick's blue is a name applied to several shades of blue considered as symbolic of Ireland. In the British tradition, it may refer to various sky blue shades, as used by the Order of St. Patrick, whereas in the Irish tradition it is often a dark, rich blue, as used by the President of Ireland. Today, the British royal family use the same darker rendering on the royal standard of the United Kingdom and the presidential standard of Ireland.
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Famous quotes containing the words patrick and/or blue:
“And no one knows what’s yet to come.
For Patrick Pearse had said
That in every generation
Must Ireland’s blood be shed.
From mountain to mountain ride the fierce horsemen.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“When the inhabitants of some sequestered island first descry the “big canoe” of the European rolling through the blue waters towards their shores, they rush down to the beach in crowds, and with open arms stand ready to embrace the strangers. Fatal embrace! They fold to their bosoms the vipers whose sting is destined to poison all their joys; and the instinctive feeling of love within their breasts is soon converted into the bitterest hate.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)