For the love of flags: Did you know Cork used to have a blue and yellow one?
The fact that Cork used to play in blue and yellow is just one of the fascinating facts about county colours revealed by Stan Zamyatin Moore, writes
STAN Zamyatin Moore has always loved flags. The Dubliner’s interest in all things vexillological began when he was a child but really took off when he became a European Studies student at Trinity College Dublin in 2013.
“I’ve always been into art,” says Stan. “I studied it in school and went into design. I then studied architecture for a while but I dropped out and finally settled on history at Trinity. So I guess in flags you have colours and you have history so all of my interests are covered in a way.”
Stan suggests that his “internationalness” is another factor. Born in Russia, he moved to Ireland at the age of eight when his mother married American musician Thom Moore. Moore, who passed away earlier this year, was well-known in Irish circles and spent most of his life in various parts of Ireland.
“I lived in Mayo and Leitrim for a time,” says Stan. “I have also been to 55 different countries around the world so that has also helped.”
In 2013, the year of The Gathering, Stan got involved with the Genealogical Society of Ireland. He is now head of flag and heraldic studies at the society and says that it’s thanks to them that he has had “the privilege to be involved in events and talks both at home and abroad”. As of that were not enough, he completed an Mphil in Public History and Cultural Heritage last year.
This week, as part of the 6th annual Dublin Festival of History, Stan will give a talk on the County Flags of Ireland in Ballymun Library.
“Flags are fascinating because they are so interlinked with history,” says Stan. “They tell you so much about the consolidation of land, of power or even a change in the administration. County flags or colours really are no different. If you study the history of county flags you study a history of Ireland.”
Of course Irish history is a complex beast and its county flags are no different. For a start, county flags do not exist, officially at least. According to Stan, they have never been standardised. County flags, or
colours as Stan likes to refer to them, are intrinsically linked to the story of organised sport in Ireland and specifically the GAA.
“Administratively we have 30 counties in the Republic and 11 in the North but everyone considers Ireland made up of 32 counties and that’s really down to the GAA,” explains Stan. “It’s something they really fostered. In Kerry for example, Gaelic football was used to bring the county together and form an identity. Kerry were one of the earliest users of colours. So the green and gold dates to at least 1905.
“Around this time, counties were usually represented by their clubs and would have worn their own colours. So if we stick with the case of Kerry, their colours came from the Tralee Mitchell’s who were very successful around this time. I have heard that they got their jerseys from the local rugby club in fact. Rugby was very popular before football took over.”
The Kingdom were one of the first colours to tie their colours to the mast. That was a full eight years before an order was issued by the GAA from Dublin City Hall asking all counties to standardise the colours in which they were going to compete. While many counties chose and stuck to the colours we associate with them today, others were inclined to change dependent on what fate and luck threw their way.
“Cork used to play in blue and yellow which was quite similar to what Tipperary wear now,” says Stan.
“They were on their way to play a match sometime during the War of Independence and some British soldiers caught them with these jerseys for what was an illegal game. So they just took them off them. When they got to the pitch, they were given red jerseys to play in. They won and decided to stick with them.”
Similarly, Galway went through a combination of blue and gold, followed by green and white before kitting out in its now famous maroon and white for the 1934 All-Ireland football final. “The university had won the Sigerson Cup in 1933 and 1934.. The maroon and white were their colours. So in 1934 Galway were in the All-Ireland football final against Dublin and because many of the university team were on the Galway team they decided they’d give those colours a go. They won and ever since they’ve stuck to the colours we are familiar with today.”
The history of county colours is riddled with little nuggets of superstition just like that. The talk promises to be a fascinating look at the complex history of county colours and the role they play in promoting a sense of identity and belonging across the island of Ireland.
