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Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, Ireland

image by Michael Merrigan, 23 May 2013

County Flag
Dún Laoghaire Peoples' Heritage Flag

See also:

County Flag

"Mountains to the Sea" flag design concept by Andrew Gerard Ball with project artwork and graphics by Frank Lee Cooper - May 2013.

The flag design is taken from the County motto "Ó Chuan go Sliabh" which has been loosely translated as "from the Mountains to the Sea" and depicts a stylised mountain by the sea with the shamrock taken from the 1994 coat-of-arms of Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council.

The design brief was that the flag should be "significant, distinctive and contemporary" and be "easily recognisable and identifiable" when flying is a high wind or not.

The design concept by Australian born and long-time Dún Laoghaire resident, Andrew Gerard Ball, was based on the current logo of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council and with the shamrock taken from the coat-of-arms of the County Council joining the traditional heraldic design with the modern logo. The addition of the shamrock (or trefoil) from the coat-of-arms provides the design with a major signifier of 'Ireland' and of Irish heritage, the flag is a beautiful modern and distinctive representation of entire County of Dún Laoghaire Rathdown - from the Mountains to the Sea.

Frank Lee Cooper from Dún Laoghaire provided the professional artwork and graphics for the project which brought the original design concept vividly to life as shown in the attached photographs.

The flag was crafted in cloth by the bespoke Dublin flag-makers, O'Regan's of Pearse Street, and was presented by An Tánaiste (Irish Deputy Prime Minister), Éamon Gilmore, TD, to Special Guest, Mr. Graham Bartram, FFI, MGSI, of The Flag Institute in the UK, to mark the opening ceremony for Bratacha 2013 - Festival of Flags & Emblems at the unveiling of "Europe in Bloom" in Cabinteely Park on Thursday May 9th 2013.

Michael Merrigan, 23 May 2013

Dún Laoghaire Peoples' Heritage Flag

image provided by Michael Merrigan

Design: diagonal gold over St. Patrick’s blue with a black bull’s head on the gold and a white Celtic cross on the blue
Significance: gold for the High Kingship of Ireland – the land of the Celtic Sun God Lugh – in the 5th century the twilight years of pagan Celtic Ireland.

black bull for High King Laoghaire Mac Niall the eponymous founder of Dún Laoghaire in the fifth century AD – Laoghaire from the Irish for “calf-herder” – the bull or tarbh was sacred to the Celts.
blue – commonly called St Patrick’s blue, representing the Ancient Kingdom of Ireland and the sea - representing the area’s rich maritime heritage.
white Celtic Cross signifies the arrival of Christianity to Ireland during the reign of High King Laoghaire with the mission of St. Patrick and the dawn of Irish recorded history.

Designer: local artist, Veronica Heywood from a historical concept by Michael Merrigan (2003) for use by Dún Laoghaire Town Football Club, Dún Laoghaire Community Association and other community organisations in Dún Laoghaire, County Dublin, Ireland.
Arms: the design is also used as the Arms of Dún Laoghaire Town Football Club Limited – per bend or – a bull’s head caboshed sable; azure – a Celtic cross argent.
Flag: the “Dún Laoghaire Peoples’ Heritage Flag” was made by Dublin Flagmakers – O’Regan of Pearse Street, Dublin and first flown in Holyhead, north Wales during a soccer match between Dún Laoghaire Town Football Club and Holyhead Hotspur in May 2004 and has been used since in community parades, events and campaigns in Dún Laoghaire, County Dublin, Ireland.

Michael Merrigan
Hon. Secretary, Genealogical Society of Ireland, 6 June 2005