ISBN 2009-6437
Vexillology Ireland: Brateolaíocht Éireann
VIBE Summer Newsletter 2016
Vol. 1 No. 5
Welcome to Vexillology Ireland’s Summer Newsletter! While the summer brings sunshine and hot weather to many countries, in Ireland we have the usual “wet, cloudy with bright spots”. As the old Irish jokes goes: How do you know when it is summer in Ireland? When the rain gets warmer! The UEFA European Championship might be over but the Summer Olympics are about to begin in Rio, which in no doubt will make all you vexillophiles happy. There is no better feeling than to look into a crowd of people and recognize a random flag that most people would not know. The symbol of summer for many people is the sun. Sun symbols are one of the most common and widespread emblems in the world that take on many forms and variations. In Ireland these symbols are mainly found in the form of different crosses and rising sun icons.
Oak – The National Tree of Ireland Trees have always played a very important role in human society providing us with things like tools, heat, food and even music. Trees have also been a powerful symbol in human art and today can be found on flags and emblems. Although it is not always easy to choose a national tree, many countries in the world have done so. Most people do not know it, but the national tree of Ireland is the Sessile Oak (Quercus petraea). The word sessile means “sitting” and refers to the way the acorn sits directly on the twig without a stalk. In Irish it is called “Dair ghaelach” (Gaelic oak) and is the most frequently found species of Oak in Ireland. It is almost fully resistant to damp and is much prized for its visual and qualities and durability, having been used for barrel, house and ship construction for centuries. The oak was considered a sacred tree in pre-Christian times, for this reason many early Irish Churches were built on sacred oak groves. Surprisingly, the Sessile oak only became the official tree of Ireland in 1990, with the official tree planting taking place in Ardagh, County Longford. Note that this is not the same Ardagh where the “Ardagh Chalice” was found in 1868 which lies in Count Limerick.
Many local Irish names throughout the island derive from trees, especially the oak (dair) which is frequently found in place names. Derry (Doire, meaning ‘oak wood’), Kildare (Cill Dara, meaning ‘church of the oak’) and Adare (Áth Dara, meaning ‘ford of the oak’) are but a few examples. When it comes to flags, the oak is rarely used and is only depicted on various flags of the Derry GAA team and on the flag of the Defence Forces Training Centre which is located in the Curragh, Co. Kildare. As an example, last year we designed a flag for the village of Adare in Co. Limerick. It depicts an 1
oak leaf with acorns, waves to represent a ‘ford’ (shallow place in a river) and uses the Limerick GAA colours of ‘green and white’. Oak in Irish Heraldry The oak is the most frequent tree to appear in heraldry and is usually drawn with only the leaves and acorns. In Ireland, the coat of arms of four County Councils feature the oak - Roscommon, Kildare, Wicklow and are our very own Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, where the archives of our society is located.
The arms of Roscommon was granted in 1961 and features amongst other things an oak sprig which represents Douglas Hyde who was from the county. Hyde was a famous Irish language intellectual who served as Ireland’s first president (1938-45) and used the pseudonym An Craoibhín Aoibhinn, which means “the pleasant little branch”. In addition, the sprig also stands for Saint Coman who gave the name to the county (Ros Comain, meaning St. Coman’s wood) and built a monastery on a sacred oak grove in the 8th century. The arms of Kildare was granted in 1991 and features an oak sprig to represent the name Kildare which comes from the Irish Cill Dara, meaning ‘church of the oak’. The Wicklow arms was granted in 1956 and depicts two sprigs of oak which are a reference to the historical oak forests in the county. And finally the arms of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown was granted in 1993 and features an oak sprig to represent as stated by the council: “to represent the ancient wooded nature of the entire county and the aspiration for conservation of its natural environment”. Our Oak Another example of oak imagery use is our very own society. Vexillology Ireland is a branch of the Genealogical Society of Ireland (GSI) that in 2001 became the first Irish genealogical organisation to receive a grant of arms. There are two reasons why the oak was incorporated into the arms – universal and personal. The oak is a universal symbol of genealogy, including its constituent parts – acorns, leaves, branches etc. The “family tree” is a common genealogical chart that shows the ancestry and relationship of all family members. The oak stands for strength, longevity and honour, for this reason it also depicted on tombstones. As mentioned before, the oak was considered to be a sacred tree in pre-Christian Ireland, a notion that has not disappeared. Much reverence is still given to the oak today which is why it still evokes wisdom and greatness. On a personal level, the oak comes from the arms of Denis O Conor Don, the first President of the Society who passed away on July 10th 2000. He was the hereditary chief of the ancient Connacht sept of O Conor Don and considered a principal claimant to the High Kingship of Ireland.
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On 23rd July 2001 the Society received a “Letter of Patent” from the Chief Herald of Ireland at the time, Brendan O Donoghue, which included a coat of arms, a heraldic banner and a heraldic badge. The work of devising the arms was carried out by Micheál Ó Comáin, Ireland’s premier consulting Herald at the Genealogical Office, and the hand painting on vellum was carried out by Philip Mackey, one of Ireland’s foremost herald-painters.
In addition to the shield, GSI was granted a badge to be used by its members. The design features a rope in the shape of a trefoil, better known as a “Hungerford knot”, that terminates in two acorns. This badge is also found on our “livery flag” that consists of the Society’s primary colours blue and gold. The flag represents the Company as the Society is an incorporated body since 2000 and its governance is subject to the Companies Act, 2014, and as a registered educational charity, to the Charities Act, 2009. The financing of the badge was made possible by the kind generosity of Barbara Mungovan Koch (MGSI) in memory of her late father Joseph Mungovan (MGSI). For this reason the badge is referred to as the “Mungovan Badge” and was carried on the GSI Membership Cards. It is only fitting that the Society adopted the motto: Cuimhnigí ar Ár Sinnsir, which means “Remember Our Ancestors” in Irish. The Yew and Ash Despite the prevalence of the oak in Irish iconography, some people argue that the Yew (Taxus Baccata) or Ash (Fraxinus Excelsior) should be the national tree of Ireland, afterall they were much more revered than the oak in PreChristian and Early Christian times. Both trees feature strongly in Irish mythology and therefore hold their own place in Irish symbology. The Yew (Iúr) has historically been considered a holy tree and symbolises eternity. For this reason many Yews can be found in old graveyards as they offered protection from evil spirits (ironically the leaves and berries are poisonous). The symbol of eternal life is probably due to the fact that the yew grows for a very long time, it is an evergreen (surprisingly rare in Ireland) and has bright red berries. In fact, the oldest tree in Ireland is believed to be an 800 year old Yew found at St. Patrick’s College, in Maynooth, County Kildare. The tree is called the “Silken Thomas yew” after a legend that says the 10th Earl of Kildare played the flute under the tree before surrendering to Henry VIII after his failed rebellion in 1535. In terms of Irish place names, the name “Mayo”, a county on the west coast of Ireland, comes from the Irish "Maigh Eo" meaning "Plain of the yew trees". Consequently the yew is depicted on the arms of the Mayo County Council and on the logo of the Mayo GAA team. The Ash (Fuinseóg) is another sacred tree that is prevalent in Irish mythology. It is the most common tree in Irish hedgerows and is also found in many parks and forests. The wood of the Ash is famous in Ireland for the production of hurling sticks, although due to a lack of forestry, most of the wood is imported in order to meet the roughly half a million demand each year. “Hurling” or the female equivalent “Camogie” is an ancient Irish sport that is considered to be the fastest game on grass. Some believe that the sport inspired ice hockey in Canada but this has been disputed.
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Oak – The national Tree of Europe The oak is the national tree of many European countries (varying species) such as – Ireland, UK (including Wales and England), Portugal, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Romania, Moldova, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, Cyprus and historically the western part of Georgia (Colchis). As a matter of interest, the oak also became the official national tree of the United States when Congress passed legislation in 2004. While Ireland uses a Georgian building to represent the Department of Education, the USA employs an oak.
In heraldry the coat of arms of Estonia, Latvia, Bulgaria and San Marino are the only European countries to feature the oak. In coinage Germany has cosistently used the oak as an emblem. Today an oak sprig is depicted on the obsverse side of German 1, 2 and 5 cent Euro coins and was shown on the obeverse of all pfennig coins and on the reverse of 1 and 2 Deutsche Marks. Another place where the oak holds great importance is the Basque County. The oak is a symbol of Basque identity and has pre-Christian origins. Interestingly the green St. Andrew’s cross on the Basque flag (Ikurrina) represents the Oak of Guernica (Gernikako Arbola) which we have incorporated into the image below. Today this Oak tree stands in front of the local council building in Guernica, a historically and culturally important town in the province of Biscay (provincial and municipal flag are displayed below).
The tradition of swearing an oath under the tree still continues to this day with Basque regional presidents. During the Romantic period in the 19th century, the famous Basque poet José María Iparraguirre wrote a song about it which has now become the Basque anthem. In 1937, the year that the Irish Constitution was written, the town of Guernica was carpet bombed by the Nazis in support of General Franco during the Spanish Civil War. The tree miraculously survived but was later replaced due to a fungus. The tree that stands today is the fifth oak since the 14th century and was planted last year in March 2015. The Basque flag was first officially adopted in 1931 but then became outlawed in 1938 when the Basque area was conquered by Franco’s troops during the Spanish Civil War (1936-39). The flag was re-adopted in 1978, three years after General Francisco Franco’s death, the same year that democracy was re-established and the current Spanish constitution and flag were adopted.
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Old National Flag of Georgia While we all love and admire the current national flag of Georgia, it might be good to reflect on the old national flag which, despite being somewhat bland actually holds much Georgian symbolism. The flag was used during two short periods 1918-21 and 1990-2004. In each case the flag was adopted before independence was declared. The old national flag was designed by Jakob Nikoladze and was first hoisted on March 25, 1917, shortly after the February Revolution (March new style), the first of two Russian revolutions in 1917. The flag had a ratio of 1:2 and was cherry red with a canton made up of a black and white bicolour. Cherry red has historically been considered the Georgian national colour and features prevalently in folk costumes to this day. The colour black represented the disasters of the past and the white stood for the hopes of the future. While the First World War was still going on, on 26 May 1918, Georgia declared independence. The Democratic Republic of Georgia was founded and the old national flag was officially adopted. The flag became banned when Georgia was forcefully incorporated into the Soviet Union. The flag was readopted on 14 November 1990, five months before re-independence was proclaimed on 9 April 1991. With the re-adoption the ratio was changed to 3:5. In 1999 the Georgian parliament voted to replace the old national flag with the current one but the president at the time, Eduard Shevardnadze refused to sign the bill. Consequently the flag became a symbol of opposition and was adopted by the United National Movement party led by Mikheil Saakashvili. The current national flag was officially adopted on 14 January 2004, after the successful Rose Revolution in November 2003 ousted Shevardnadze from power.
Georgian “Borjgali” Symbol Borjgali is an ancient Georgian symbol that forms an inseparable part of the Georgian identity. Its prevalence in modern-day Georgia is a testament to its longevity and importance. The emblem is usually depicted as a sun with seven rotating wings but the number can vary. Borjgali represents eternity and is symbolically and visually very similar to the Armenian eternity symbol “Arevakhach”.
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The ancient symbol features abundantly in modern Georgian iconography and can be found on all Georgian IDs, passports and even on the logo of the national airlines. In terms of coinage, the symbol features on the obverse side of 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 tetri coins (subunit of Georgian “lari” currency). Georgia is famous for rugby whose team is rightly pushing to join the Six Nations along with Ireland, after a successful World Cup. The team’s logo features the borjgali and even the Georgian rugby players are called ბორჯღალოსნები (borjgalosnebi), meaning "men bearing Borjgali" as the rugby shirts have the crest on them. Georgia will compete at this year’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janiero. Make sure you keep an eye out for the logo of the Georgian Olympic Committee which also features the symbol!
2016 – A Special Year for Irish-Georgian Relations Diplomatic relations between Ireland and Georgia were established on 12 September 1996. This year the two countries celebrate their 20th anniversary. As part of the celebrations, on St. Patrick’s Day Georgia organized a free concert in their capital Tbilisi and the TV Tower overlooking the city was lit up green. On 26 May, in honour of Georgia’s 25th anniversary of the “restoration of Georgia’s independence”, their national flags were flown along with the Irish tricolour over the Dublin City Council’s headquarters and along a part of the city’s river the Liffey. Throughout this year the Georgian government has sought to increase relations with not only Ireland as a whole but individual cities such as Dublin, Galway and Limerick. The Autonomous Republic of Adjara has established relations with County Cork, including cooperation between their two capitals - Cork city and Batumi, Georgia’s second biggest city. On a European level, the EU-Georgia Association Agreement came into force on 1 July and later this year Georgian tourists will be able to travel to Europe without a visa. All these achievements only show how far Georgia has gone in the last 25 years. Historically there are a number of similarities between the both countries, most notably the fact that the two were part of large empires during the Romantic period in the 19th century, a time when many modern national concepts were created. Interestingly, in 1801 when Ireland became a constituent part of the United Kingdom, Georgia became part of the Russian Empire. However, in 1922 when Ireland got its first part of independence and became a dominion of the British Empire, Georgia once again came under Russia rule (after a brief period of independence) and became part of the Soviet Union. Today in Ireland when someone speaks of “Georgian architecture”, they are referring to a style that came from Britain, not Georgia. Georgian Conference We are happy to announce that once again the Society will be representing Ireland abroad, this time in Georgia. The conference will take place in Tbilisi (29 September – 1 October) and is being organized by the State Council of Heraldry at the Parliament of Georgia. The organization was founded in 2008 and works with the Georgian government on everything relating to heraldry. It has been a member of FIAV since 2011 and established relations with our society in 2013. This is the first time that Georgia is holding a conference on this subject and the theme of the event is “historical symbols in contemporary vexillology and heraldry”. The Chief Executive of Vexillology Ireland, Stan Zamyatin, will travel to Tbilisi and give a paper on the Irish harp. A longer version of his work will soon be published online by the Society which will allow everyone to read it. The Society’s attendance at this conference is part-funded by the Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council as we continue our campaign to secure the 2021 FIAV Congress. 6
Two years ago we created an image of the flags of Georgian towns and cities, including the flag of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara (bottom left corner). We hope you will enjoy it!
VIBE Autumn Newsletter 2016 The VIBE Autumn Newsletter will be out in October and feature pictures and information from the Georgian conference. We are also looking for people to contribute to this issue. If you would like to write a short piece on something related to flags, please send an email to bratachaeire@gmail.com. Go raibh míle maith agaibh!
Further Contact Email: bratachaeire@gmail.com Address: Genealogical Society of Ireland, 11, Desmond Avenue, Dún Laoghaire, Co. Dublin, Ireland. A96 AD76 Vexillology Ireland : Brateolaíocht Éireann
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