A piper struck up The Dawning of the Day as a Tricolour was hoisted above the grey waves of Dun Laoghaire Harbour at 8 a.m. sharp yesterday to mark the 150th anniversary of the first unfurling of the Irish flag.
Day, of course, had already dawned, but in military tradition daybreak is officially at 8 a.m. year round, according to Commdt Pat Holohan from B Company 21st Battalion of the FCA.
The inter-church blessing and flag unfurling ceremony in Kingston Gardens overlooking the east pier was organised as part of the Dun Laoghaire 1500 celebrations.
The original Tricolour was brought from revolutionary France by a Young Ireland delegation and presented to the Irish people as a new national flag by Thomas Francis Meagher in April 1848. Meagher (known as Meagher of the Sword) gave the silk flag to Dublin's Lord Mayor at a ceremony in the Music Hall, Lower Abbey Street, on April 15th.
Dr Thomas McGrath, of St Patrick's College, Maynooth, said: "The fact that the green and orange are both represented in equal proportions on the flag is challenging: neither colour is predominant. The flag is a flag of reconciliation and union between the two traditions. It is inter-denominational and ecumenical. It asserts that both traditions must be treated equally if there is to be peace on this island."
The Dun Laoghaire ceremony was addressed by the maritime historian, Dr John de Courcy Ireland, and the cathaoirleach of the local council, Mr Donal Marren.
In a separate ceremony later yesterday, Dublin's deputy Lord Mayor, Ald Michael Donnelly, unveiled a mahogany and brass plaque close to the site of the 1848 presentation, which is today the National Lottery headquarters.
An inscription on the plaque includes a phrase from Meagher's 1848 speech: "From Paris, the city of the tricolour and the barricades, this flag has been borne proudly. I trust the old country will not reject this symbol of a new life from one of its youngest children."
The mayor of Clonmel, Cllr Tommy Norris, later presented Ald Donnelly with a replica of the 1848 silk flag on a pike in the Abbey Theatre. The original sash worn in 1848 was also on display.