Flag size calculator for Irish flagpoles

The calculator shows the flag size an Irish flagpole supplier lists for a given pole height, together with the two half-mast points described in the guidelines of the Department of the Taoiseach. The pole height is set in whole metres, from 2 to 12 metres.

What the results mean

The size chart

The supplier’s chart matches three flag sizes to pole heights, all in the 2:1 proportions of the tricolour:

For 11 metres, which is not in the chart, the calculator shows the nearest row. The chart is a supplier’s reference, not an official table: according to the guidelines, the National Flag may be made to any convenient size, provided the width is twice the depth. More in the guide to flag sizes.

The half-mast points

The guidelines describe half-mast as the flag flown two-thirds of the way up the flagpole, with at least the depth of the flag between the top of the flag and the top of the pole, and never below the middle point of the staff. As a general guide, they take the half-mast position as that where the top of the flag is one flag depth below the top of the staff.

The calculator uses the depth of the flag from the chart. On a 6-metre pole with a 900 mm deep flag, the top of the flag at half-mast is at about 5.1 metres, and the lowest point is 3 metres. On a 10-metre pole with a 1500 mm flag, the figures are 8.5 and 5 metres. The procedure for hoisting to half-mast is described in the guide to half-mast.

Heights and conditions

The height in the calculator is the height of the pole above ground. On a wall-mounted or angled pole, the chart does not apply in the same way; the supplier notes that the flag hangs down the pole when there is no wind, and a flag within reach from the ground may attract vandalism. Exposed coastal sites meet much more wind than sheltered inland ones, which affects both the flag and the pole. Common heights are compared in the guide to flagpole heights.