The Taoiseach stated that individuals who use the tricolour to imply they “alone represent Irishness” are doing a disservice to the national flag.
He made these remarks while delivering a speech in the rain at Bodenstown Graveyard during Fianna Fáil’s annual event commemorating the 18th-century Irish revolutionary Theobald Wolfe Tone, reports Breaking News.
Wolfe Tone, who led a French military force during the 1798 Rebellion, was remembered by the Taoiseach as the “generation of idealists” who “gave us our national flag”.
He added that those who “try and claim that there is a fixed national identity” fail to grasp Irish history or realise “that our identity has survived because we have been willing to evolve and be more inclusive,” reports Breaking News.
His remarks follow an increase in the display of Irish flags attached to lampposts, railings, and street signs over recent months.
These flags have been put up by various groups to express pride in national identity, though some have criticised the displays, believing the tricolour is being used to intimidate migrants, reports Breaking News.
Similar disputes have taken place in the UK after the “Operation Raise the Colours” campaign encouraged the public display of Union and St George’s flags.
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