Quote:
Originally Posted by desertgrandma
So it IS two separate countries.
"Ireland" is ruled by themselves, "Northern Ireland" is ruled by and part of Great Britain. With "limited self government", I'm not sure what that means.
Does Northern Ireland fly the British Flag?
Okay, the bottom flag is flown by Ireland, the self governing one.
The top two flags represent Northern Ireland, governed by the UK. Which is flown when?
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I've got a feeling that I'm going to regret this, but ...
England is the largest division of Great Britain (which comprises England, Wales, Scotland and also those adjacent islands governed from the mainland, excluding the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands).
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was formed in 1921, after the rest of Ireland became the autonomous Irish Free State (it became the Republic of Ireland in 1949).
The UK is a monarchy and is part of the EU, though not in the Euro-zone ... best not to ask why.
The English flag is called Saint George's Cross (usually abbreviated to St George's Cross), a red Greek cross on a white background. Saint George is the patron saint of England ... and Aragón, Canada, Catalonia, Deptford, Ethiopia, Georgia, Greece, Montenegro, Palestine, Portugal, Russia, and Serbia, as well as the cities of Amersfoort, Beirut, Ferrara, Freiburg, Genoa, Ljubljana, and Moscow, as well as a wide range of professions, organisations and disease sufferers! St George's Day is April 23.
The national flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Union Jack (also called the Union flag), so yes Northern Ireland flies the UK flag.
Yes, the bottom flag is flown by the Republic of Ireland, which is a separate country from the UK, just as the US is a separate country from Canada.
Yes, the top flag is the Northern Ireland flag. They have their own flag, just as does does England. Naturally, Scotland and Wales also have their own flags. As do the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.
You could think of the English, Scottish, Welsh, Northern Irish, Isle of Man and Channel Islands flags as being a bit like the Texan Lone Star flag. The UK flag (ie the Union Jack) is equivalent to the US' Stars and Stripes.
So, in case I've confused you, the Republic of Ireland is an independent country. Northern Ireland is part of the UK.
Geographically, Alaska is located "in" Canada, but it is part of the US. Geographically, Northern Ireland is located on the island of Ireland. The largest part of the island, in the south, is one independent country that happens to be a republic (like the US) and the smallest part, in the north, is part of another country (ie the UK, which is a monarchy).
Now tell me that I've confused you ... I bet you wish you'd never asked.
Addendum
Here's an example of
UK used in a list of countries: