[2] The tricolour of green, white and orange, the official flag of the Republic of Ireland, was originally intended by nationalists to represent the entire island.
The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) flies this flag at matches regardless of whether either or both teams are from Northern Ireland.
The harp (or cláirseach) has long been a symbol of Ireland, being first recorded in a French roll of arms known as the Armorial Wijnbergen, which dates to the late 13th century.
[8][9] In the nineteenth century, the Maid of Erin, a personification of Ireland, was a woman holding a more realistic harp than the "winged maiden".
The lower left quadrant of the Royal Standard of the United Kingdom has featured a harp on a blue field, representing Ireland since 1603.
[7] The current version, designed in 1953, uses a winged-maiden harp and consists of a golden cláirseach with silver strings on a blue background.
The United Irishmen adopted this flag which already had strong associations with Ireland, it was unofficially the national flag for centuries, The united Irishmen was an Irish nationalist movement associated with both Catholic and Protestant Irish – its leader Wolfe Tone was Anglican Protestant; green was a colour of rebellion in the eighteenth century.
The Ireland national field hockey team uses a bespoke flag with a shield quartered with the symbols of the four provinces.
At matches in Northern Ireland (typically at Ravenhill) the Flag of Ulster (yellow background) is also displayed.
At matches in the Republic of Ireland (typically at Lansdowne Road), the Irish tricolour is flown along with the preceding two.
Eddie Irvine, a Formula One driver from Conlig in Northern Ireland, asked for a white flag with a shamrock to be used if he secured a podium finish.
In FEI Nations Cup events, Ireland was represented by the Irish Army Equitation School under the tricolour.