The arms of the historic province of Ulster is a composite achievement, combining the heraldic symbols of the cross of de Burgh and the red hand motif of the Irish over-kingdom of
Ulaid, which later became associated with the O'Neills whose first use of it is dated to the mid-14th century. When
Walter de Burgh, Lord of
Connacht, became
Earl of Ulster in 1243, the de Burgh cross became inseparably linked with the Hiberno-Norman
Earldom of Ulster, which spanned over a third of the north of Ireland. The seal of his son,
Richard, for example, appended to a deed dated 1282, shows the heraldic cross in triplicate together with what may well be a portrait head of the Earl himself. At some point, the Red Hand motif was appended to the de Burgh cross, the result eventually coming to represent the entire province. In the first half of the 17th century, the arms taken by the Vice-Admiral of Ulster imply that at that time, the arms of Ulster were simply a variation of the O'Neills':
Argent a sinister hand couped at the wrist gules. ==Forms and uses==