^{This page is part of © FOTW Flags Of The World website}

Ireland: county colours of Ulster

Ulaidh

by Mario Fabretto

County colours in Ulster

See also:

County colours in Ulster

The flags in popular use are based on the colours of the county teams in Gaelic football and hurling - the most popular spectator sports. As these flags are entirely unofficial, the designs vary: one sees the colours arranged as horizontal stripes, quarters, lozenges, etc., but vertical stripes are the most common. These flags have outgrown their sporting origins and are now widely used on festive occasions, flown alongside the European Union, national and provincial flags at shopping centres, hotels, etc. However, in the six counties that constitute Northern Ireland, use of the county colours is confined to nationalist areas - the counties in Northern Ireland have been abolished for administrative purposes and the sports from which the county colours derive are not generally supported by unionists.

Antrim*	Aontroim	saffron and white
Armagh*	Ard Mhacha	orange and white
Cavan	An Cabhán	blue and white
Derry (Londonderry)*	Doire	red and white
Donegal	Dún na nGall (Tír Chonaill)	green and gold
Down*	An Dún	red and black
Fermanagh*	Fear Manach	green and white
Monaghan	Muineachán	white and blue
Tyrone*	Tír Eoghain	white and red

* indicates a county in Northern Ireland

Vincent Morley, 4 December 1996