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A WIDELY SHARED post on social media, which features a photo of three non-Irish flags, suggests that the Irish tricolour is not flown at Government Buildings in Dublin.
The post by The Irish Inquiry, a self-described online news company that has spread misinformation about immigrants, the environment, vaccines and Covid-19, appeared on Facebook and X on 4 September.
It was shared amid ongoing conversations about the State’s treatment of the Irish flag, particularly in light of a decision by Dublin City Council this week to hold meetings with senior gardaí over the erection of the Irish national flag in public spaces.
The council’s decision has sparked a backlash among anti-immigrant and far-right groups, who have suggested that it is unpatriotic and ashamed of the flag.
The Irish Inquiry’s posts featured an image of three flags that are flying outside Leinster House: the Palestinian flag; the flag of the European Union; and the flag of Ukraine.
It was captioned: “Irish Government buildings…. where’s the Irish tricolour? Is this acceptable to you?”
The image is cropped in such a way that the Irish flag is not visible, with the combination of image and caption suggesting the tricolour is not flown at all.
Reverse image searches show that it appears to have been taken when the Palestinian flag flew at Leinster House in May 2024, as a mark of Ireland’s recognition of the State of Palestine. It has since been taken down.
However, the Irish tricolour flew on top of Leinster House the same day, as images of Government Buildings from the time clearly show:
The flag was flown higher than the three flags in the Irish Inquiry’s picture, as per the flag protocol that is observed by the State and the Defence Forces.
The protocol is a set of conventions about the flying of the flag in public spaces, and includes guidelines that state that where the tricolour is flown, no other flag or pennant should be raised above it.
It also states that the tricolour should only fly between sunrise and sunset (except on certain occasions) and that it shouldn’t touch the ground when it is being lowered.
Claims about the use of the flag are part of an emerging stand-off over the tricolour’s wider use by anti-migrant groups, who have copied a similar campaign in England to “reclaim” the flag.
The use of the tricolour itself is not controversial, though it has featured heavily at demonstrations and pickets against accommodation for people in international protection in recent years.
This week, Dublin City Council chief executive Richard Shakespeare said that elected members and local communities have expressed concerns about “the proliferation of the national flag being hung across particular areas of the city”.
Some politicians on the council described the increasing flying of the flag on lampposts around the capital a “weaponisation” of tricolour and a means to “mark territory” in the streets of Dublin.
However, others have pushed back on this.
Independent councillor Malachy Steenson, who was involved in anti-immigrant protests in East Wall in late 2023, hit out at those who wanted to remove the flag.
“We have taken our flag back from those who are intent on destroying our country and we are proud to fly it,” the Independent councillor said on Instagram last week.
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