Coat of arms of Northern Ireland
|
The Coat of Arms of Northern Ireland |
The
Coat of Arms of Northern Ireland was granted to the
Government of Northern Ireland in
1924, after the
Irish Free State had separated from the
United Kingdom.
Neville Rodwell Wilkinson,
Ulster King of Arms, had designed the great seal and
flag of Northern Ireland in
1923. In January
1924 he held discussions with Northern Ireland officials in London regarding the coat of arms. The final design was completed by Wilkinson's deputy
Thomas Ulick Sadleir for approval by the Northern Ireland cabinet in April
1924. The artwork was approved and the Royal warrant signed by George V and issued through the
Home Office on
August 2 1924 and registered in the Register of Arms in
Dublin as follows:
Royal Warrant Government of Northern IrelandArgent a cross gules, overall on a six pointed star of the field ensigned by an Imperial crown proper a dexter hand couped at the wrist of the second. Given at our Court of St. James in the 15th year of our reign 2nd August 1924 by His Majesty's command.This was the same design as the
Flag of Northern Ireland which had been designed in the previous year.
The supporters were granted in
1925, and consist of a gold lion supporting a banner of the
Irish coat of arms —
Azure a harp Or stringed Argent, meaning a gold harp, stringed silver, on a blue background, as represented in the
Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom; and a white elk with gold antlers and hooves supporting a banner of the arms of the De Burgo Earls of Ulster, the basis for the
Flag of Ulster.
In
1971 the
College of Arms in
London added the compartment on which the supporters stand. The
Latin motto Quis separabit (Who shall separate). The motto was first used by the
Order of St. Patrick in the 18th Century, and was also used by the
British Army regiment, the
Royal Ulster Rifles. More recently, the motto has been used by the proscribed paramilitary group known as the
Ulster Defence Association (the UDA).
When the
Government of Northern Ireland was prorogued in
1973 the arms went out of official use.
The
Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom as used for Northern Ireland is the same as that used in
England and
Wales, with the exception of the crest.
The
crest (not shown here) is that of a
hart (a stag) exiting a tower (
on a torse Azure and Or, a castle triple-towered of the second, from the portal thereof a hart springing Argent attired and hooved Or).
*Register of Arms, Genealogical Office, Dublin
Royal Roots, Republican Inheritance - The Survival of the Office of Arms, Susan Hood, Dublin,
2002*
Flag of Northern Ireland
