Madam, – I was appalled by the lack of respect shown to our national flag by those attending the Taoiseach’s homecoming ceremony in Castlebar a week ago.
A large number of the Taoiseach’s supporters could be seen waving Tricolours which had been imprinted with a picture of Enda Kenny and the words “Welcome home Taoiseach”. Article 17 of the “Guidelines for use of the National Flag” issued by the Department of the Taoiseach states, “The National Flag should NEVER be defaced by placing slogans, logos, lettering or pictures of any kind on it”.
I would have expected that members of Fine Gael, and the Taoiseach’s supporters, would have shown a greater degree of respect for such an important national symbol. Their actions in defacing the national flag were also deeply hypocritical given that members of Fine Gael are usually among the first people to accuse Sinn Féin of “hijacking” the national flag and of misusing it during election counts.
I am not a member of any political party, and have no political axe to grind with Fine Gael. I am simply an ordinary Irish citizen who believes that our national flag should be treated with far more dignity and respect than was shown to it by the Taoiseach’s supporters a week ago. I sincerely hope the Taoiseach’s supporters will show more respect for our national flag the next time they decide to “hang out their brightest colours”. – Yours, etc,