Sir, – I think Seanán Ó Coistín (February 15th) is getting confused. Green is in the national flag because of St Patrick, rather than the other way around. The association between green and St Patrick has no political connotations – it arose because he used the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity.
The other colours of the national flag have nothing to do with St Patrick. There are other colours associated with him, for example red and white in St Patrick’s saltire, and “St Patrick’s blue”, but few people seem to be aware of that. On the other hand, the colour green is inextricably linked with St Patrick’s Day in the minds of people all over the world, so it is the only logical choice for this campaign by Tourism Ireland.
Illuminating buildings in all three colours of the national flag is much less likely to be acceptable to the very people who Mr Ó Coistín is concerned about. The reality is, most people from the “Orange” tradition in Ireland view the Tricolour with outright hostility.
Ironically, green alone is not necessarily met with animosity in those quarters – witness the colours of the Northern Ireland football team, which is supported primarily by those from the unionist/Protestant tradition. – Yours, etc,