Madam, – Edward Burke (October 5th) rightly points out the folly of having no official flag representing the island of Ireland, resulting in Graeme McDowell’s ambush by two sets of flag- wielding fans in the wake of his and Europe’s Ryder Cup triumph.
While the philosophy behind the Tricolour is non-sectarian (or at least bi-sectarian), it is tribalist in that it represents the nationalist population of Ireland as well as being the official flag of the Irish State (which since the Belfast Agreement, does not constitutionally include all of Ireland).
Rather than construct a new flag (as the IRFU did with respect to a common anthem), why not adopt the unofficial flag of Ireland that is the cross of St Patrick? – a flag which is acceptable to the citizens of Downpatrick on his feast day as a common non-tribal symbol, to the odd Irish rugby supporter at international games and presumably to the unionist tradition, it being a component of the Union flag. It also has historical merit, it being used to represent Ireland in some 17th- and 18th-century continental atlases, having perhaps originated in the arms of the FitzGerald clan, of Norman and Leinster fame. – Yours, etc,