Aug
7
Northern Ireland doesn’t have one official flag, so how do we treat the Northern Irish the same as everyone else in our flag flying campaign? All flags and symbols can have Unionist or Nationalist connotations and we’d like to get this right. Joe MacDonald of the Ulster Farmers’ Union has said
“We believe there is a growing interest in products that are from Northern Ireland because of their freshness and low carbon footprint but if people aren’t able to identify the country of origin accurately, they are not able to make that informed choice.”
(link)
But what form should this labelling take?
As Englishmen, we aren’t experts on the Northern Ireland flags issue so we’d like to invite comments from people who are Northern Irish. We understand this is a controversial issue, but please keep it friendly! Any answers to the following questions would be much appreciated.
1.How is British and Irish food currently labelled? Do you get the same mix of Union Jacks and national flags?
2. Would you like a flag to label Northern Irish produce? If so, which one?
3. Would any flags be offensive to you, and stop you buying produce, and why?
4. Would you prefer a label stating “Produce of Northern Ireland” or “Made in Ulster” or similar?
Any general comments are welcome, thank you.
Comments
15 Responses to “What Flag is Fair to Northern Ireland?”
Leave a Reply
Fairflags badges
Boycot Dairycrest
1.How is British and Irish food currently labelled? Do you get the same mix of Union Jacks and national flags?
We get all sorts. Northern Irish stuff is generally labelled Northern Irish but with no flag. We do get British/Scottish/English/Irish stuff too. I’ve seen Irish cheese in Tesco with a tricolour on it and Scottish strawberries with a saltire. I’m not sure whether or not I’ve seen English stuff identified with St George’s cross or not. To be honest this tends to put me off buying it as, like yourselves, I’m a bit pissed off that our own flag doesn’t get used.
“2. Would you like a flag to label Northern Irish produce? If so, which one?”
Yes. My choice would be the Northern Ireland flag. It’s good enough for the Commonwealth games and the football team. I’d also be happy enough with the centre-piece of that flag – the red hand and star.
“3. Would any flags be offensive to you, and stop you buying produce, and why?”
Anything that’s inaccurate. St Patrick’s saltire is an uncommonly used all-Ireland flag and, to the mass market, isn’t instantly recognisable.
As far as external produce goes, I dislike the Scottish saltire or Irish tricolour on packaging for the same reason you do; i.e. not in and of themselves, but because it’s one rule for them and another for the rest of us. There should be consistency – either it’s all British or Eng/Scot/Wel/NI and either it’s all flags or no flags.
Sadly, as far as flags go, there’s nothing that will keep everyone happy – mainly because you’ll find one or two folk who get enraged at the very mention of the words “Northern Ireland” in succession like that. What’s generally used as “the Northern Ireland flag” has apparently been unofficial for the past 35 years and anything else would be artificial (thus unrecognisable, and not fulfilling its purpose in this case) or inaccurate.
“4. Would you prefer a label stating “Produce of Northern Ireland” or “Made in Ulster” or similar?”
Yes. Some products (Tesco own brand meat springs to mind) tends to already have this though. I can’t help wonder if that’s at least partially a throw back to BSE though.
There will be no consensus, sadly, on which flag is “fair” for Northern Ireland, because the Province has divided allegiances.
The official flags, because NI has a majority of electors who vote for the Union with GB, are, firstly the Union Flag; and secondly, the NI Flag which is the flag of St George with a red hand and crown in the middle.
Inanimate goods don’t have national loyalties. Why do they need a flag? Leave it at “Made in Northern Ireland.”
The symbol that the Northern Ireland tourist board use, ie a shamrock with a hint of Ulster red in it, would do very well with the words “Made In Northern Ireland”. Uk flag would be ridiculous in this area as we are looking for a flag which would inidividuate norhtern ireland. The Ulster Banner far too divisive. So rather than a flag, use an emblem. Shamrock, somewhat surprisingly perhaps, is often used in NI (eg northern ireland football tops, tourist board etc, even old ruc badge). Add something like the red to distinguish from the republic. simple really, pity the great unionist intellects above could not work it out. maybe it is ni’s fate to be saved by republicans!
Ulster is used to describe Northern Ireland but it doesn’t cover the whole province. It’s like the Olympic “Team GB” – it’s used as a collective for the UK + Channel Islands + Isle of Man team but doesn’t actually mean what it’s intended to represent.
1. How is British and Irish food currently labelled? Do you get the same mix of Union Jacks and national flags?
I’ve yet to see a Northern Ireland flag on any produce.
2. Would you like a flag to label Northern Irish produce? If so, which one?
The Ulster banner/ Northern Ireland flag is good enough for council offices and the national football team. An alternative could be the Red Hand of Ulster.
3. Would any flags be offensive to you, and stop you buying produce, and why?
I would not normally buy beef produce with an irish tricolour due to their border closing incident during the BSE crisis. I tend to support British produce and avoid foreign imports.
4. Would you prefer a label stating “Produce of Northern Ireland” or “Made in Ulster” or similar?
Yes I would, especially beef produce.
Occasionally you see Sainsburys Northern Irish sausages. But unfortunately ‘PONI’ (Produce of Northern Ireland) labelling appears to have disappeared.
I think we have the hardest battle on our hands…Irish sausages, Irish potato bread, Irish this and that, is not actually Irish, but Northern Irish produce. Is this legal?
A lot of the marketing of food packaging is almost insulting; either designed by Irish nationalists or someone with no knowledge of Northern Irish culture. Marks and Spencer and the Rankin bread range are the main culprits.
On another note, I should correct your opening statement. Northern Ireland DOES have an official flag. The Union Flag (jack etc)
Your link to the wiki pages are in itself controversial as they have been edited by Irish Republican activists who have been accused of bullying anyone who attempts to correct the misinformation.
The Irish Tricolour has never had any official status in Northen Ireland and was once banned. The Northern Ireland flag kind of lost its status when the government transferred back to Westminster, but is still recognised and actively used by the majority of the population. I suppose now that the government is back in NI, it’s official again!
Great site by the way, keep up the good work!
I was going to leave a lengthy reply but, ‘bode’ has got it right! So, do something about it !?
Also, why can I not get a lot of Northern Ireland /Ulster produce online (I love plain bread, muffins, dulse, honeycombe, pasties, gravy rings, veda,tayto etc… Yes , I can get some of these online but, not very much (I get my plain bread from Scotland)? It is pathetic, unprofessional & it seems no-one (probably not the right people) give a damn – possibly very biased & sectarian ? We are two different countries & cultures – just like anywhere else in the world ! Get educated…
I Will Not buy anything stated as coming from Eire/ROI/Ireland-and with it’s flag.
Nor will my family/friends.
I will, maybe, just like anywhere else, when my country (Northern Ireland/Ulster) is acknowledged.
Bye for now.
There IS NOT a controversial flags issue!
The flags of Northern Ireland/Ulster are the Union Flag & (the more commonly known – but not to the uneducated & ignorant & bigoted..), Ulster Flag. Fact. Full Stop !
Actually, you have had more than six responses (three from me) which you choose to ignore ? Biased & untruthful is your site.
Lets try to simplify this matter . The national flag of the UK is the Union flag (a combination of St Andrew/St Patrick/St George flags). The rest (Northern Ireland/Ulster flags etc..) are regional national flags.
Thanks for visiting and taking the time to post Rab – apologies for the delay in authorising your comments.
As flags are so divisive in NI, there is never going to be a solution as to what is correct for food packaging so it should just be left at ‘produce of Northern Ireland’. This distingushes the product as coming from the six counties that comprise NI. Ulster can include products from a further 3 counties and could be offensive to people from both sides of the divide.
Rab above is an example of the very people he calls uneducated, ignorant and bigoted. The flag of Ulster is definitely not the Union Flag just as Ulster is definitely not a country.
In your efforts at political correctness, you will only succeed in becoming bogged down by becoming involved in the politics of NI.