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Wicklow, Ireland

Wicklow County Council:

by Mario Fabretto

Description of the flag
GAA flag
Bray town council

See also:

Description of the flag

Flag divided dancette blue over green, with in the blue field two oak branches on either side of a lion guardant facing the fly, and on the green field a white church-like structure.

This flag is of the county council - the elected body responsible for local administration. It is flown at council offices but it does not represent the county and is not used by the general population.

Vincent Morley, 1 November 1997

GAA Flag

by Rick Prohaska

The Gaelic Athletic Association flag uses the county colours, vertically divided blue and yellow, with a stylized representation of the county council flag on a shield.

Bray town council

image by Laurence Jones, 28 August 2005

I have unearthed the following information on the flag of Bray Town Council (formerly Urban District Council), County Wicklow, Ireland.

Towards the end of 1955 the Bray Urban District Council decided to replace the seal with an official coat of arms. This, it was felt, would give the town "a distinctive character and prestige". At the meeting it was also stated that it was intended that it would be used for a municipal flag which would be flown on special civic occasions. The then Wicklow County Manager, Mr. M Flannery was closely involved in designing the arms. The design was agreed at a council meeting on February 14th 1956, and the following arms granted by the Chief Herald of Ireland on 1st June 1956:

Per chevron gules and azure, a chevron rompu or charged with a martlet sable, in the dexter chief a bell in the sinister a lion passant of the third, in base a mermaid with comb and mirror proper.

The broken or "rompu" chevron across the centre of the shield represents the bridge over the Dargle River. The chevron is charged with a black martlet. This is taken from the arms of the Brabazon family. The Brabazons, who became Earls of Meath, gained land at Bray on the dissolution of the Abbey of Saint Thomas and played a large part in the development of the town. The bell represents the ruined church of Raheenacluig on Bray Head. The lion is from the O'Toole arms. The family had a castle at Powerscourt, and were associated with the Bray area for centuries. The arms are completed by a mermaid from the O'Byrne arms. The O'Byrnes maintained Gaelic ways of life in Wicklow for many centuries, the area only being brought under English at the beginning of the seventeenth century.

The municipal flag, a banner of the arms, was officially unfurled at Bray Town Hall on 11th August 1956.

Source: Wicklow People newspaper editions of February 18 and August 18 1956, Register of Arms, Genealogical Office, Dublin, Volume R, information provided by Bray Town Clerk and Wicklow County Library.

Laurence Jones, 28 August 2005