The Starry Plough – a historical note

Damian Lawlor

On the 5th of April 1914 the Irish Citi- perial Hotel alongside the Tricolour already zen Army paraded their colours, the Starry flying there. I immediately agreed, and only Plough, at a meeting. The flag was un- succeeded after great difficulty as it had to like any other used in Ireland and is made be erected under fire, but up it went - ‘The up of an agricultural plough with superim- Plough and the Stars’ -and there it stayed, posed upon its structure the star constella- although only the front wall of the building tion Ursa Major (also called the Great Bear remained after the fight had concluded.’ or Plough or Big Dipper).The flag had a gilt Connolly would have been well aware edge, the background is green, the plough that the Hotel was owned by William Mar- itself is yellow and the stars are silver. tin Murphy, who was the employers’ leader The original suggestion that the ICA during the 1913 lockout. The message from should have its own flag came from Jim Connolly was clearly that in the new Irish Larkin but the actual design of the flag Republic workers would be in the ascendant is credited to Belfast artist William H. over the exploiters who lived off their sweat Megahy. At the time of designing the flag and toil. he was working as a teacher in the School After the Rising it was widely believed of Art located in Kildare Street in Dublin. that the flag had been burned along with Sean O’Casey (the then secretary of the Cit- the rest of the hotel. However it still flew izen Army) carried out research into the ori- over the front of the building and remained gins of the flag and in 1954 submitted the flying there right through till the follow- original drawing of the design to the Na- ing Saturday evening. A Lieutenant of the tional Museum. The only major difference 9th Reserve Cavalry Regiment then occupy- between this and the flag produced is that ing O’Connell Street spotted the flag flying in the drawing the flag has a blue and not a above the G.P.O. With the help of a po- green background. The identity of the per- lice officer he removed it and took it as a son who decided to change the colour is not souvenir. The National Museum acquired it known. It was produced by the Dun Emer from him in 1955. Guild. In a picture of the flag outside Croy- In 1934 it was decided to re-establish don House, Fairview in the summer of 1915 the ICA in conjunction with the launch of the flag is being carried on a pole with a red the Republican Congress. A number of the hand on the top - this is the symbol of the members of the original ICA were consulted Irish Transport and General Workers Union. and their recollections of the design of the The Imperial Hotel on O’Connell Street original flag were recorded. Some of these was probably not occupied until the Tuesday differed radically. Eventually the new Starry of the Easter Rising, when a detachment of Plough was produced but it was significantly volunteers who had previously been based altered with the agricultural plough now on Westmoreland Street were moved into missing and the background colour blue. the building. Later on in the day another Seven white stars which make up the star section of rebels was sent from the G.P.O. constellation of the Plough were kept. It to reinforce those already there and early wasn’t until 1955 when the National Mu- on Wednesday the rebels hoisted a tricolour seum managed to acquire the original and over the building. Later on during the day authenticate it that the difference in the two James Connolly sent over the Starry Plough flags was accepted. . Sean O’Casey wrote the following lines Frank Thornton tells how, ‘During the about the flag, ‘Be worthy, men, of following Insurrection I received a request from my such a banner, for this is your flag of the fu- commander-in-chief, James Connolly, to ture. Whatever may happen to me; though I erect ‘The Plough and the Stars’ on the Im- should mingle with the dust, or fall to ashes

78 in a flame, the plough will always remain there to unveil the beauty of the night, and to furrow the earth, the stars will always be a newer people, living a newer life, will sing like the sons of the morning.’

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