Flags in mourning in Ireland: funerals, coffins and folding

In Ireland the tricolour has a fixed place in mourning: at half-mast on government buildings when a national figure dies, on the coffin at a State or military funeral, and folded and handed to the family afterwards. The customs are set out in the guidelines “The National Flag” of the Department of the Taoiseach, section 8 on half-masting and times of mourning and section 9 on folding. As with the rest of the guidelines, they are not law, and families, clubs and organisations are free to follow them.

Half-mast

On the death of a national or international figure, the National Flag is flown at half-mast on all prominent government buildings equipped with a flagpole, under advice from the Department of the Taoiseach. The Department may also advise half-mast after other tragic events, and the death of a prominent local figure may be marked locally. Where the flag is at half-mast, no other flag is flown. The position and procedure are described in the guide to half-mast.

During a funeral, the guidelines allow a flag at half-mast to be displayed day and night for the duration of the funeral, provided it is illuminated. The National Flag may also be displayed in the open for the duration of a funeral procession, outside the normal hours from sunrise to sunset.

The flag on a coffin

When the National Flag is used to drape a coffin, the green is at the head of the coffin. The guidelines repeat this in three places: in the rules on displaying the flag, in the section on mourning, and in the rules on respect for the flag, where draping a coffin is the one exception to the rule that the flag is always carried aloft and free, not flat. A figure in the guidelines shows the correct draping.

Folding the flag

When a coffin has been draped with the National Flag, the guidelines describe the military tradition for folding it, which may be followed by others. Once the flag is removed from the coffin, the coffin bearers, ideally six people, fold it:

1. the orange is passed under to the white
2. the white and orange are passed under to the green, so that the green is on top, the orange in the middle and the white underneath
3. green, orange and white are folded once, with the green facing outwards, and the complete flag is draped over the extended left arm of a coffin bearer

This assumes a standard-size flag; a larger flag may need to be folded twice, with the green always facing outwards. The folded flag is then normally presented to the next of kin of the deceased. The guidelines add a note for the bearers: as each portion of the flag is passed on, the next person has a firm grip on it.

Dipping the flag

While being carried, the National Flag is not dipped by way of salute or compliment, with one exception: it is dipped to the dead during memorial ceremonies. The rule appears both in the section on carrying the flag and in the section on mourning.

The National Day of Commemoration

Each year, on the Sunday closest to 11 July, the National Day of Commemoration honours all Irishmen and Irishwomen who died in past wars or on service with the United Nations and other international organisations in the service of peace. It is one of the days on which the National Flag flies from all State buildings. The national ceremony at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham in Dublin includes a wreath laying by the President on behalf of the people of Ireland, and local ceremonies are held in several cities. More in the guide to flag days.

At home, in clubs and at work

For families, clubs, schools and employers, the guidelines give a common frame: the flag at half-mast from sunrise to sunset, no other flag beside it, the green at the head of the coffin, and the flag folded and handed to the next of kin after the funeral. How the tricolour relates to other flags on the same site is covered in the guide to flag protocol.