Peace & Justice

Why you won't find flags on BCA's Derry pages

As you undoubtedly know, the people of Northern Ireland, and the republic to the south, have been working to institutionalize a Peace Process during the past ten plus years since the Belfast Agreement of 1998. It has been a difficult task to overcome a conflict that has roots going back centuries, and which has been manifested in various forms of sectarianism during The Troubles (since the late 1960s).

Committed to Peace

There is no question that the Peace Process is now stronger than ever, as the reinstitution of devolved government in the form of the Northern Ireland Assembly has demonstrated. Many people still pinch themselves when they see members of Jerry Adams’ party, Sinn Fein, working in government with the Democratic Unionist Party founded by Ian Paisley. It seems almost impossible that such archenemies are now working together and committed to peace in Northern Ireland.

Despite this progress, there is still a great deal of work to be done to overcome the residues of the conflict, especially the sectarian attitudes that marked the divisions between Catholic/Nationalists and Protestant/Unionists.

Use of Flags in Northern Ireland

In the past, one of the most visible signs of this sectarianism was the flying of different flags to demarcate territory and to indicate which side of the sectarian divide various communities and neighborhoods were on, even when many individuals in those communities disagreed.

The problematic character of this symbolism was noted and incorporated in the Belfast Agreement; “All participants acknowledge the sensitivity of the use of symbols and emblems for public purposes and the need in particular in creating the new institutions to ensure that such symbols and emblems are used in a manner which promotes mutual respect rather than division.”

So today, many people, of course, do not want to use such sectarian symbols and there has been a broad effort to remove all flags from the public realm in Northern Ireland to promote the “mutual respect” agreed in the Belfast Agreement.

Taking Action

  • Derry City Council, for example, has banned all flags from its offices.
  • By law, the British government buildings in the North may fly the Union Jack just 17 days of the year in accordance with specific events.
  • The 2006 - 2009 Action Plan of A Shared Future made particular note of the fact that 1,000 publicly displayed flags were removed in 2005.
  • In March 2008, The Derry Journal noted that in a recent research project “more than 60 percent of people surveyed in five areas across the city say they don’t support the flying of emblems such as the Union flag, the Irish Tricolor and various paramilitary insignia.”

Learning with BCA

So, BCA doesn’t fly a flag next to its program in Derry—a small gesture to show that we understand and support the Peace Process.

If you are considering studying in Derry and want to understand this issue more fully please consider the following resources:

Also, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me if you would like to discuss the use flags in Northern Ireland or any issue related to the Peace Process. You can reach me at jskelly@BCAabroad.org.

Jim Skelly
BCA Coordinator for Peace & Justice Programming, and Resident Director, Derry

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