Red Hand redirects here.For the event see Red Hand Day. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The Red Hand Day on February 12 is an annual commemoration day created to draw attention to the fate of children who are forced to serve as soldiers in wars and armed conflicts. ...

The Red Hand of Ulster is a symbol, used in heraldry, which is used to denote the Irish province of Ulster. Its origins are uncertain but attributed to mythical tales passed down from generation to generation in the oral tradition. Some versions of the image have the thumb open from the rest of the hand such as Tyrone GAA's crest. The symbol is strongly rooted to Irish Gaelic culture and in particular, the Irish Gaels of Ulster such as the 'O'Neills' and associated Ulster Gaelic clans pre-17th Century. Heraldry in its most general sense encompasses all matters relating to the duties and responsibilities of officers of arms. ... When under Gaelic rule, Ireland was divided into provinces to replace the earlier system of the túatha. ... This article is about the nine-county Irish province. ... :For more details of Tyrone football see Tyrone Senior Club Football Championship or Tyrone Senior Club Hurling Championship. ...

Mythical origins

The Red Hand of Ulster appears on the former Government of Northern Ireland banner 1953-72, which is used to represent Northern Ireland in some sporting events such as the Commonwealth Games.

According to one famous myth, Ulster had at one time no rightful heir. Because of this it was agreed that a boat race should take place (possibly in Strangford Lough) and that "whosoever's hand is the first to touch the shore of Ulster, so shall he be made the king". Image File history File links Ulster_banner. ... Image File history File links Ulster_banner. ... The Parliament Buildings of Northern Ireland The Executive Committee met there. ... Current flag of the Commonwealth Games Federation Locations of the games, and participating countries Commonwealth Games Federation seal, adopted in 2001 The Commonwealth Games is a multinational, multi-sport event. ... For other uses, see inheritance (disambiguation). ... Strangford Lough from Portaferry, looking towards the narrows. ...

One potential king so loved and desired Ulster that, upon seeing that he was losing the race, he cut off his hand and threw it to the shore — thus winning the kingship. The hand is most likely red to represent the fact that it would have been covered in blood.

Another story concerns two giants engaged in battle, one of whom had his hand cut off by the other, and a red imprint of the hand was left on the rocks. Yet another myth tells that the hand came along when a citizen dipped his hand in hot red wax to protest tax in Belfast.^{[citation needed]} Each of these stories are likely to be retrospective fabrications, most particularly the one about the giants. This article is about the city in Northern Ireland. ...

The Red Hand is used in the Ulster Banner, the Ulster Flag and on the shields of counties Cavan, Tyrone, Londonderry, Antrim and Monaghan. It is also used by many other official and non-official organisations throughout the province of Ulster. Some Loyalist organisations in Northern Ireland prominently display the Red Hand in their insignia and paraphernalia and G.A.A clubs that would normally be affiliated with the Nationalist community use the Red Hand widely also. It is also the badge of baronets other than those of Scotland or Nova Scotia. In the flags, the red hand is a right hand; for baronets, it is a left hand. Flag of Northern Ireland - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... The Flag of Ulster The Flag of Ulster, one of the four provinces of Ireland, consists of a red cross on a golden field (from the arms of Norman coloniser, John de Courcy), charged with a white shield and the red hand. ... Statistics Province: Ulster County Town: Cavan Code: CN Area: 1,931 km² Population (2006) 63,961 Website: www. ... Statistics Province: Ulster County Town: Omagh Area: 3,155 km² Population (est. ... For other places with similar names, see Londonderry (disambiguation) and Derry (disambiguation). ... Statistics Province: Ulster County Town: Antrim Area: 2,844 km² Population (est. ... Statistics Province: Ulster County Town: Monaghan Code: MN Area: 1,294 km² Population (2006[1]) 55,816 Website: www. ... For other uses, see Loyalist (disambiguation). ... For the brush-footed butterfly species, see Euthalia nais. ...

"The Red Hand of Ulster's a paradox quite,
To Baronets 'tis said to belong;
If they use the left hand, they're sure to be right,
And to use the right hand would be wrong.
For the Province, a different custom applies,
And just the reverse is the rule;
If you use the right hand you'll be right, safe and wise,
If you use the left hand you're a fool."

O'Neill

The flag of the province of Ulster

A variant myth, recounts how Uí Néill and a man named Dermott both wished to be king of Ulster. The High King suggested a horse race across the land. As the two came in sight of the ending point, it seemed that Dermott would win, so Uí Néill cut his hand off and threw it. It reached the goal ahead of Dermott's horse, winning for Uí Néill the crown of Ulster. Image File history File links Flag_of_Ulster. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Ulster. ... The Uí Néill (Irish for descendants of Niall Uí pronounced Ee: ) were an Irish dynasty who claimed descent from Niall Noigiallach (Niall of the Nine Hostages), a semi-historical High King of Ireland who died about 405. ...

Coats of arms used by individuals bearing surnames of families of Uí Néill descent - Ó Cathain (now Keane), Ó Maelsechlainn (now McLoughlin), Ó Catharnaigh of Donegal (now Kearney) and Ó Neill/O'Neill, to name just a few - all feature the Red Hand in some manner, recalling their common descent. Heraldry is the science and art of describing of coats-of-arms, also referred to as achievements or armorial bearings. ... Clan OCathain (OCahan, OKane, Keane, Kean, Kane, Cain, McCain). ... ONeill (also spelled ONeil, ONeal) may refer to: In places: ONeill, Nebraska, a US city ONeil, Florida, a US town In business: ONeill (brand), a wetsuit and surf clothing manufacturer In education: ONeill Collegiate and Vocational Institute, a school in Oshawa, Ontario People...

Due to the domination of Ulster by the northern O'Neills, the symbol they used came to represent the province itself. To this day, the symbol is found in the Ulster flag and the former Flag of the Parliament of Northern Ireland the Ulster Banner. The Flag of Ulster The Flag of Ulster, one of the four provinces of Ireland, consists of a red cross on a golden field (from the arms of Norman coloniser, John de Courcy), charged with a white shield and the red hand. ... Flag of Northern Ireland - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ...

Controversy

In 2005 former Miss Northern Ireland, Zöe Salmon, caused controversy when she selected the Red Hand as a symbol to represent Northern Ireland for a "Best of British" logo for a fictitious airline in a competition for Blue Peter. David Miller, a sociology professor from Strathclyde University in Scotland, complained to the BBC, saying that like the swastika the Red Hand had been misappropriated, and that it was a symbol of the unionists.^[1] Miss Northern Ireland is a beauty pageant, the winner of which goes on to compete in the Miss World pageant. ... Zöe Salmon (born 7 January 1980, in Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland) is a British television presenter, currently hosting the childrens television show Blue Peter. ... For other uses, see Blue Peter (disambiguation). ... This article is about the symbol. ...

The Red Hand of Ulster can be regarded as one of the few cross-traditional symbols that is used in Northern Ireland; however it can be more often associated with Unionist and Loyalists.^[2] In Nationalist perspectives, due to its strong attachment to Irish culture, it is also used widely by Nationalist organisations and Ulster GAA affiliated clubs and in their crests and emblems. External links Ulster Council website Category: ...

References

1. ^ "Here’s a gaffe I made earlier" timesonline.co.uk
2. ^ CAIN website.

External links

• Culture Northern Ireland article
• Red Hand
• Red Hand O'Neill
• Red hand (Sir David Roche, Bt)
• Comhairle Uladh CLG - Ulster Council GAA