Sensitivities with Ireland Identification

LegacyUser

Stewart Millar said: I am sure the following is put into circulation with well meant intentions.



However it needs to be understood that there are significant sensitivities felt by different communties in the present state of Northern Ireland.

The attachment of the Irish (Republic of Ireland) flag - only officially designated as such since 1922 - attached to this ancestor . . . . could produce intense reactions.

As can clearly be seen by the attached details - this individual was born in 1869 when the whole of Ireland was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland . . . and died in 1939 as noted in what is the state of Northern Ireland, part of the United Kingdom of Great Britian and Northern Ireland.

What would be technically correct would be to display the UK Union flag. Not to do so is very likely to create distress and upset to that section of the poulation with an allegience to Great Britain.

However, being technically correct in using the Union Flag for an ancestor of a family with a strong Nationalist alliegence in Norther Ireland is also highly likely to cause intense offence.

Flag allegience and display is charictaristic of the political and sectarian allegincies in Northern Ireland.

You are playing with fire - please seek a better graphical representation of "Ireland" - perhaps just a map of the island of Ireland.

I hope someone in FS gives serious consideration to this suggestion.

My personal interest - I am a son of Northern Ireland.

LegacyUser

A van Helsdingen said: Yes, these can be very sensitive issues in Northern Ireland. Consider for instance the unrest that occurred in 2012 when the number of days that the Union Jack flies on Belfast City Hall was reduced.

Definitely the use of a Republic of Ireland flag pre-1922 is plain wrong, and will offend Unionists.

But if FS was to avoid upsetting Nationalists by avoiding the Union Jack for Northern Ireland, they would be taking a political stance, which they do not want to do.

Prehaps a solution could be to use the flags of the four provinces- Leinster, Connacht, Ulster and Munster- both pre- and post-1922, to avoid the tricolour and Union Jack.

LegacyUser

Stewart Millar said: Useful suggestion - several all-Ireland organisations use the 4 provinces in the folowing flag:



These represent, clockise from the top left - Munster, Connacht, Leinster and Ulster.

LegacyUser

Stewart Millar said: As not many will be familiar with the 4 provinces of Ireland - some labels on the flag might be helpful:



Or alternatively - use the Flag of St Patrick which formed an integral part of the Union flag from 1801 - representing the whole of Ireland; and then from 1922 representing Northern Ireland.



These or any other better solution will avoid the incorrect use of either the Irish Tricolour or Union Flag.

Something must be done about this - I know many quite respectable families in Northern Ireland - on seeing the above example (on the original post) - will immedietley feel insulted and instantly be affronted and totally dismissive of a site where "Americans" simply cannot work out the flag of the country my ancestors lived in.

LegacyUser

Tom Huber said: In a way, FamilySearch should consider the sensitivities involved with their present practices to fall within the same category as using the Confederate Flag from the civil war days on the American continent. In short, it (the use of the flag) should not be done.