St Patrick's blue is a name often mistakenly applied to severalshades of blue associated withIreland. The official colour of Ireland in heraldic terms isazure blue. The colour blue's association with Saint Patrick dates from the 1780s, when it was adopted as the colour of theAnglo-IrishOrder of St Patrick. The term refers to asky blue used by the Order of St Patrick, often confused in Ireland with a darker, rich blue.[1][2] There is node jurenational colour in Ireland, with the only reference to any colour(s) appearing in Article 7 of theIrish Constitution in regards to thenational flag.[3] However, whilegreen is thede facto national colour of Ireland, representing Ireland in many sporting, cultural, and business events, azure blue is still found in symbols of boththe state andthe island.[4]
The first record of blue asrepresenting authority in Ireland appears in the late 13th century French roll of arms, known as theArmorial Wijnbergen. Within the document, a shield bearing a gold harp on a Blue field with the inscriptionLe Roi d'Irlande ("king of Ireland") written underneath is listed[5] TheOrder of St Patrick was established in 1783 as the seniororder of chivalry in theKingdom of Ireland. The colour of its honours needed to differ from those of theOrder of the Garter (dark blue) and theOrder of the Thistle (green). Orange was considered, but the association withorangeism felt to be too sectarian, so the lighter blue was chosen.[6] Knights and officers of the order wore a "sky blue"mantle andriband, a hat lined with "blue", and a badge ringed with "blue" enamel.[7] The nameSt Patrick's blue was common but never officially used by the Order.[1][8]
The exact shade of blue used varied over time. A sky blue tinged with green was used byLord Iveagh in 1895 and confirmed in 1903.[1]
There has been debate over the extent to which blue was a national colour of Ireland prior to the creation of the Order, and whether it was associated withSaint Patrick himself independently of the Order. Jim Smyth characterised the Order's adoption of St Patrick's Blue andSaint Patrick's Saltire as examples ofinvention of tradition.[9]Shane Leslie speculated that the green-blue of St Patrick's blue might be "but a reminiscence of thewoad-stain used by all colour-loving Celts".[10]Constance Gore-Booth believed blue was "the old colour of Ireland" and incorporated it in the regalia of theIrish Citizen Army (ICA).[11]Scientific analysis of the ICA banner, theStarry Plough, found it had originally been a rich deep poplin field of blue before being replaced with green in advance of being flown over theImperial Hotel during the 1916Easter Rising.[12][13] Antiquarian nationalistFrancis Joseph Bigger considered St Patrick's blue a "fake colour" andSaint Patrick's Flag a "fake flag".[14] More recently, Peter Alter[15] and Christina Mahony[16] have supported the historicity of the colour, whileBrian Ó Cuív questioned it.[4]
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The Irish arms used by Irish monarchs sinceEdward IV had anazure field; originally the device was three crowns (now thearms of Munster) untilHenry VIII changed it to a harp. This is still the arms of themodern Irish state, and also appears in the lower left quarter of theRoyal Standard of the United Kingdom.[17] InIrish mythology,Flaitheas Éireann, the sovereignty of Ireland, was sometimes represented as a woman in a blue robe.[18] Although thearms of the province of Mide has a blue field, when its device was used as the arms of Ireland, the field wassable.[18] TheIrish College in Paris, completed in 1776,[19] was renovated in 2002; the paint uncovered on the chapel walls was described as "St Patrick's blue" by a visiting journalist.[20] As regards green in association with Patrick: in 1681,Thomas Dineley reported people wearing crosses of green ribbon in their hats onSaint Patrick's Day.[21]
At a "National Ball" duringEdward, Prince of Wales' 1868 visit to Ireland, his wifeAlexandra wore a dress of "St Patrick blue".[22] In 1886, agarden party given by theLord Lieutenant of Ireland to showcase Irish manufacturing had an Irish-themed dress code. TheFreeman's Journal criticised some of the code as difficult to comply with, but said 'Irishpoplinties of "St Patrick's Blue"—which we think looks rather green in a certain light—may [...] be had without much strain.'[23]The Guardian's report of the party stated 'the display of the new colour, "St. Patrick's Blue," was everywhere visible.'[24] The 1912court uniform and dress code specified that the household of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland should wear St Patrick's blue,[25] as shouldPages of Honour whenthe King was in Ireland.[26]
TheIreland association football team organised by theIrish Football Association (IFA) wore St Patrick's blue jerseys from 1882 until 1931, when they switched to green.[27] The IFA team is now theNorthern Ireland team. TheFootball Association of Ireland sent anIrish Free State team to the1924 Olympic football tournament; it wore a St Patrick's Blue changestrip againstBulgaria, whose strip was Ireland's usual green.[28] In 2021, theRepublic of Ireland wore a St. Patrick's Blue jersey in a friendly againstQatar for the 100th anniversary of the FAI.[29]
In the 1930s, the Army Comrades Association's Saint Patrick's blue shirts earned it the nickname ofBlueshirts. It was a quasi-Fascistshirted movement which rejected green as associated with itsrepublican opponents.[30] Thesaltire flag of the Blueshirts was a variant ofSaint Patrick's Flag with the white background replaced with a blue background.W. T. Cosgrave described the colour as "in perfect, traditional, national accord with our history and in close association with the most revered and venerated memory of our patron Saint".[31]
TheIrish Army Band's first uniform was St Patrick's blue, but this was soon changed to navy.[32] The Mounted Escort ceremonial cavalry of 1932–48 were nicknamed "Blue Hussars" from their uniforms, whose colour was sometimes described as St Patrick's blue.[33][34][35] The uniform introduced in 1970 forAer Lingusair hostesses and ground crew[36] combined green and St Patrick's Blue, described inThe Irish Times as "a sparkling new colour".[37] The 1970 uniform was replaced in 1975, after a design consultancy developed a commoncorporate image with acolour scheme of dark bottle green, bright green, and "a strong blue".[38]
Thecoat of arms of Ireland andthe standard of thepresident of Ireland are a gold (or)Irish harp with silver (argent)strings on a field of blue (azure).[39] The standard was introduced at the end ofDouglas Hyde's term in 1945;[40] contemporary news reports describe the blue as "St. Patrick's Blue".[41] The arms were granted by theChief Herald of Ireland on 9 November 1945.[42] Horses owned by theIrish National Stud are regarded as owned by the president and entitled to run in the presidential colours.[43] Theracing colours are "Saint Patrick's blue with gold sleeves, and a St Patrick's blue cap with goldtassel".[44] One such horse is Suailce,[45]which won the 2008 Irish Cesarewich.[46] The blue in the ribbon of theservice medals of theIrish Defence Forces is described as "St. Patrick’s blue".[2][47]
The official sporting colours ofUniversity College Dublin are "St. Patrick's Blue andSaffron", adopted in 1910.[48] The blue is commonly interpreted as 'light', 'Leinster or 'Dublin' blue;[48] theGAA county colours ofCounty Dublin include light blue jerseys. In theNational University of Ireland'sacademic dress code, "Saint Patrick's Blue" is the colour of the faculty of Science; Veterinary Medicine has a darker "Celtic Blue".[49] The academical dress ofQueen's University Belfast and theRoyal College of Surgeons of Ireland also features St Patrick's blue.[50] TheTrinity College Dublinfencing club specifies that theazure in its colours is "St. Patrick's Blue (Pantone 295 as the Presedential [sic] Pennant)".[51]
AmongIrish regiments of the British Army, ahackle of St Patrick's blue is worn in thebearskins of theIrish Guards[52] and in thecaubeens of theLondon Irish Rifles.[53] The Guards' blue was chosen in distinction to theRoyal Irish Fusiliers' green hackle.[54]St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin commemorates its historic association with the Order of Saint Patrick with St Patrick's blue on thecassocks of thechoristers and under theclerical collars of thedean and the vicar.[55]
Across-border flag for Ireland may be required where a sporting team combines athletes from both theRepublic of Ireland andNorthern Ireland. The arms of the fourprovinces of Ireland on a background of Saint Patrick's blue has sometimes served this purpose.[56]
[Describing the ribbons of] the Service Medal, and the Reserve Defence Forces Service Medal, as "St. Patrick's blue" seems strange to British collectors, to whom the description means a very pale, slightly greenish blue, but perhaps the Irish attribute a rich dark blue to their patron saint.
The whole was contained in a very handsome walnut casket lined with Irish poplin of the shade known as St. Patrick's blue, which is the colour of the riband worn on the robes of the Knights of St. Patrick.
the army's own flag of St. Patrick's blue trimmed with gold ... The same colours were worn by the little guard of horsemen who rode in advance.
a troop of Free State cavalry clad in the attractive St. Patrick's blue and gold uniforms which were introduced forthe Eucharistic Congress last June
(Grant Type: Registration; Register volume: G.O. MS 111G; Folio number: 20; Date: 9 November 1945)
Horses the property of the Irish National Stud Co. Ltd. may be raced under these Rules in the name of the President of Ireland, who shall be deemed to be the lessee of such horses.
In addition the Irish National Stud owned Suailce. Racing in the colours of H E the President and trained by our director Dermot Weld, she was a high class winner here at home.