Last modified: 2019-09-16 by rob raeside
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In 1986, the county of Dublin was divided into three "electoral
counties": Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, Dublin-Fingal, and Dublin-Belgard. In
1994, Dublin County Council and the Corporation of Dún Laoghaire were
abolished and the three electoral counties became administrative counties:
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, Fingal, and South Dublin. In 2001, the
administrative counties were redesignated as simply counties. The three
counties together with Dublin city constitute the Dublin Region. Dún
Laoghaire Rathdown County is located between the outer suburbs of Dublin
City and the Dublin/Wicklow Mountains on the East Coast of Ireland. It has a
population of about 207,000 people.
We show below the "Mountains to
the Sea" flag design concept by Andrew Gerard Ball, created in 2013.
According to Michael Merrigan, County Councillor from May 2009 to May 2014
and from May 2014 to May 2019, and Co-founder of Vexillology Ireland, on his
page about his activity in the county council before 2014:
"The specially
designed ‘Mountains to the Sea’ flag, created by Andrew Gerard Ball, flies
over County Hall in Dún Laoghaire each evening and at weekends."
Source:
https://votemerrigan.ie/record-of-community-activism-prior-to-election-in-2014/
First appearance of the flag in May 2013:
https://votemerrigan.ie/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/2013-05-09-15.57.33.jpg
The "Mountains to the Sea" flag flying together with a white flag with
the coat of arms of the county:
https://votemerrigan.ie/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Flag.jpg
As
far as I know, from local sources, the "Mountains to the Sea" flag has been
flown only in 2013-2014.
The flag of the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown
County Council, as it can be seen inside the council room, is the white flag
with coat of arms. You can see it for example here, during the twinning
ceremony betwen the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown county council and the French
city of Vincennes, in April 2019:
https://www.facebook.com/CharlotteLibertAlbanel/posts/2380308875364504
Olivier Touzeau, 30 August 2019
image by Michael Merrigan, 23 May 2013
"Mountains to the Sea" flag design concept by Andrew Gerard Ball with project
artwork and graphics by Frank Lee Cooper - May 2013.
The flag design is
taken from the County motto "Ó Chuan go Sliabh" which has been loosely
translated as "from the Mountains to the Sea" and depicts a stylised mountain by
the sea with the shamrock taken from the 1994 coat-of-arms of Dún Laoghaire
Rathdown County Council.
The design brief was that the flag should be
"significant, distinctive and contemporary" and be "easily recognisable and
identifiable" when flying is a high wind or not.
The design concept by
Australian born and long-time Dún Laoghaire resident, Andrew Gerard Ball, was
based on the current logo of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council and with the
shamrock taken from the coat-of-arms of the County Council joining the
traditional heraldic design with the modern logo. The addition of the shamrock
(or trefoil) from the coat-of-arms provides the design with a major signifier of
'Ireland' and of Irish heritage, the flag is a beautiful modern and distinctive
representation of entire County of Dún Laoghaire Rathdown - from the Mountains
to the Sea.
Frank Lee Cooper from Dún Laoghaire provided the professional
artwork and graphics for the project which brought the original design concept
vividly to life as shown in the attached photographs.
The flag was
crafted in cloth by the bespoke Dublin flag-makers, O'Regan's of Pearse Street,
and was presented by An Tánaiste (Irish Deputy Prime Minister), Éamon Gilmore,
TD, to Special Guest, Mr. Graham Bartram, FFI, MGSI, of The Flag Institute in
the UK, to mark the opening ceremony for Bratacha 2013 - Festival of Flags &
Emblems at the unveiling of "Europe in Bloom" in Cabinteely Park on Thursday May
9th 2013.
Michael Merrigan, 23 May 2013
image provided by Michael Merrigan
Michael Merrigan
Hon. Secretary, Genealogical Society of
Ireland, 6 June 2005