Friday, December 7, 2012

Connacht Flag



A Dinnseanchas (topographical) poem named "Ard Ruide" describes the kingdom of Connacht thus. “Connacht in the west is the kingdom of learning, the seat of the greatest and wisest druids and magicians; the men of Connacht are famed for their eloquence, their handsomeness and their ability to pronounce true judgement. (a translation from Old Irish)

The flag of Connacht is a heraldic banner of the arms of Connacht, a dimidiated (divided in half from top to bottom) eagle and armed hand. The arms of are recorded as such on a map of Galway dated 1651, now in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin.

These arms closely resemble those of the Schottenkloster or Irish monastery founded in Regensburg, Bavaria, in the 11th century. However, it is unclear how the arms of the Schottenkloster located deep in the heart of the Holy Roman Empire came to be associated with the province of Connacht in Ireland.

1 comment: