Flags and symbols will remain a point of division between North and South

Flags and symbols have long been flashpoints in Northern Ireland, markers of division in a divided society. As the question of potential Irish unity arises in the coming years, the question of symbols, emblems and flags – important in itself but also as an indicator of willingness to compromise – is likely to feature in the broader conversation about unity.

The conversation, if it is to happen, starts from a position of deep division. The latest research shows that voters from a Protestant background in Northern Ireland have very negative views about the Irish national flag, the Tricolour, and are strongly opposed to its use as the flag of a new united Ireland should that happen in the future.

Voters in the Republic, however, are overwhelmingly in favour of retaining the Tricolour as the national flag of a new united Ireland, as are those from a Catholic background in the North.

The findings are part of the latest wave of research for The Irish Times/ARINS North and South series which seeks to examine attitudes among voters in Northern Ireland and the Republic to flags, emblems and symbols – and their role in a possible new united Ireland.

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It also seeks to probe how those attitudes might be open to change by presenting the issues to respondents in two different ways.

In other aspects of the research, we have seen how the way in which the question was framed, or how information was presented to respondents could influence their views

In today’s instalment of the series, respondents in both Northern Ireland and the Republic were both split into two groups and were asked about their attitudes to the Tricolour and to another Irish national emblem, the shamrock.

On the flag, one group in each jurisdiction was reminded of its symbolic message, of peace between orange and green factions. The other was told: “Since the formation of the Irish State, the national flag has been the republican Tricolour. It was famously flown during the 1916 Easter Rising and in the Irish War of Independence against British rule.”

In other aspects of the research, we have seen how the way in which the question was framed, or how information was presented to respondents could influence their views. For instance, in yesterday’s reports, we saw how opposition among Southern voters and Northern nationalists to the Commonwealth was diminished among voters to whom its international character, with many republics as members – as opposed its British imperial heritage – was stressed.

However, Northern Protestant antipathy to the Tricolour is quite consistent; it does not vary much according to the framing of the question. But this consistency is also true among Catholics and “others” in Northern Ireland (those who do not identify as coming from either a Catholic or Protestant background), suggesting that the Irish flag is a fixed point of division in the North, and indeed, between North and South.

[ North and South: aiming to provide independent and unbiased information ]

And the divisions are sharp. In the South, huge majorities have overwhelmingly positive feelings about the national flag, no matter whether it is described to the respondent with the stress on its republican heritage, or as a symbol of peace and reconciliation.

In the North, between 36 and 40 per cent – depending on how the flag is described – of all voters strongly believe there should be a new flag in the event of a united Ireland

There is also no ambiguity over the South’s view of what should be the national flag of a new united Ireland. Two thirds of voters strongly believe that the current flag should remain, with about another 12 per cent agreeing less strongly. Just 6 per cent strongly believe that a new flag should be agreed and again – as with the North – these positions apply irrespective of how the flag is described.

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In the North, between 36 and 40 per cent – depending on how the flag is described – of all voters strongly believe there should be a new flag in the event of a united Ireland. Among voters from a Protestant background, the figure rises to between 55 and 64 per cent.

Interestingly, however, the “others” in Northern Ireland – a group which may well turn out to be decisive on the unity question – are much less hostile to the Tricolour. Although on balance the others lean towards replacing the Tricolour in the event of a future united Ireland, very few of their number have the sort of deep hostility to the flag exhibited by many unionists.

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