The most widespread use of St Patrick's Saltire today is in the
Flag of the United Kingdom. With the 1800
Act of Union that merged the kingdoms of
Great Britain and
Ireland, the red saltire was incorporated into the
Flag of the United Kingdom as representing Ireland. The red saltire is
counterchanged with the saltire of St Andrew, such that the white always follows the red clockwise. The arrangement accounts for the discontinuous look of the red diagonal lines, and has introduced a requirement to display the flag "the right way up", with the white line of St Andrew above the red of St Patrick in the upper lefthand quarter next to the flagpole. As with the red cross, so too the red saltire is separated by a white
fimbriation from the blue field. This fimbriation is repeated for symmetry on the white portion of the saltire, which thereby appears wider than the red portion. The fimbriation of the cross of St George separates its red from the red of the saltire.
Flags in Northern Ireland are controversial, their symbolism reflecting underlying sectarian and political differences. Saint Patrick's Saltire is sometimes used as a cross-community symbol with less political baggage than either the
Union Flag or the
Ulster Banner, seen as pro-
Unionist, or the
Irish tricolour used by
Irish nationalists. It is one of two flags authorised to be flown on church grounds by the
Church of Ireland, the other being the
Compass Rose Flag of the Anglican Communion. This was the recommendation of a 1999 synod committee on
sectarianism. The
Irish Free State Girl Guides, descended from the
Unionist British Girl Guides, had a Saint Patrick's Saltire on the flag it used from its establishment in 1929 until the
1937 Constitution. The saltire appeared on the
house flag of
Irish Shipping, founded 1941, and that used by
Irish Continental Line in 1973–1978. It replaced the
St George's Cross in 1970 on the flag of the
Commissioners of Irish Lights. The badge of the
Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, designed by John Vinycomb, incorporates the saltire and the arms of the four provinces.
In heraldry Regardless of the uncertainty over its origins, the red saltire, or saltire gules on a white field was used in the arms adopted by various Irish organisations, and some outside Ireland. The arms of
Trinity College Dublin show two flags, a red cross on white and a red saltire on white, which Hayes-McCoy and Galloway interpret as representing England and Ireland respectively. The arms were
granted by
Arthur Vicars in 1901, based on a 1612 seal showing uncoloured cross and saltire flags.
Bernard Burke's 1864 armory does not specify the flag's format, The arms of
Cork city show red-saltire flags on the two towers, though not on versions prior to 1800.
Coleraine Borough Council includes Saint Patrick's Saltire, as Patrick is said to have given
Coleraine its name. The arms of
Belfast shows a ship flying two flags with a red saltire on white. The saltire also appears in the coat of arms of the County Mayo town of
Westport to commemorate the visit of St Patrick to the nearby mountain,
Croagh Patrick. It also appears on the arms of
Co. Fermanagh The
Urban District Council of
Rathmines and Rathgar was granted arms in 1929, a year before it was absorbed into
Dublin Corporation; these featured a Saint Patrick's Saltire and a Celtic Cross. A red saltire also appears on the arms of
County Kildare, but this is because of the association of Kildare with the
FitzGerald family. The original arms of the
Royal Irish Academy in 1786 did not have the saltire, but those granted in 1846 do. There are red saltires in the arms of the
Queen's University in Ireland (est. 1850, arms granted 1851, dissolved 1879), its successor,
Queen's University Belfast (est. 1908, arms granted 1910), and the
Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. The
Church of Ireland diocese of Connor's arms, granted in 1945, include Saint Patrick's Saltire in memory of his supposed enslavement at
Slemish. The
Church of England Diocese of Truro, established in 1876, has a Saint Patrick's Saltire in its arms, representing "the ancient Celtic Church". The
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, whose cathedral is
St Patrick's, incorporates the saltire. St Patrick's National School in
Drumcondra, Dublin City has a saltire on its arms
St. Patrick's High School, Ottawa has the saltire in its flag and arms.
To represent Ireland or Northern Ireland (left to right: The Netherlands, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Norway) At the 1935 celebrations in London for
George V's silver jubilee, "The cross of St George representing
England and Wales, and the saltires of St Andrew and St Patrick, representing Scotland and Ireland" were flown separately and used in combination. At the time the
Irish Free State was a separate
Dominion within the
British Commonwealth. In 1986, government policy during
state visits to London was to fly the crosses of Saints George, Andrew and Patrick and the
Welsh Dragon. The government clarified that the Union Flag was the flag of Northern Ireland, not Saint Patrick's Saltire or the
Ulster Banner. The
barge Gloriana during the 2012
Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant flew flags for the five "
home nations" of the United Kingdom, including Saint Piran for Cornwall, Saint Andrew for Scotland, Saint George for England, Saint David for Wales and Saint Patrick's Saltire for Northern Ireland. In this context, the symbol was referred to as St Patrick's Cross. The
International Volleyball Federation uses Saint Patrick's Saltire to represent Northern Ireland national volleyball teams. The all-island bodies for men's and ladies'
bowls compete internationally under Saint Patrick's flag. The Unionist politician
David McNarry has suggested the saltire should be allowed in
Northern Irish number plates analogous to the flags allowed on English, Scottish, and Welsh plates.
On St Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Flag is sometimes seen during
Saint Patrick's Day parades in
Northern Ireland and
Britain. Flags are handed out by
Down District Council before the
Downpatrick parade, near Patrick's burial place at
Down Cathedral, in an attempt to create a parade that has cross-community support. This has had only limited success, however, and controversy continues over the use of flags in the parade. In Great Britain, Saint Patrick's Flag was flown in place of the Irish tricolour at the 2009 parade in
Croydon, prompting complaints from some councillors. It was flown on some years on Patrick's Day by
Bradford City Council, which subsequently reverted to flying the Irish tricolour.
In political movements Saint Patrick's Saltire was on the flag proposed in 1914 of the
County Down unit of
Irish Volunteers. A writer in
The Irish Volunteer complained that
The O'Rahilly should have known the saltire was "faked for Union Jack purposes". In 1932–33 a variation of the flag with a
St Patrick's blue background was adopted as the badge and flag of the short-lived
Blueshirt fascist movement. This militant group incorporated right-wing, conservative and some former-unionist elements in opposition to the then left-wing
republican Fianna Fáil party. A flag combining
St Andrew's Saltire, St Patrick's Saltire, and the
Red Hand of Ulster has been used by
Ulster separatists, who wish to see Northern Ireland leave the United Kingdom and become an independent state, not joining with the Republic of Ireland. for some time after its inception in 1998, but this no longer so prominent. The Reform Group is a "post-nationalist" pressure group in the
Republic of Ireland seeking closer ties with the United Kingdom. ==Other symbols of Ireland==