The Starry Plough banner was originally used by the Irish Citizen Army

Irish Citizen Army

The Irish Citizen Army , or ICA, was a small group of trained trade union volunteers established in Dublin for the defence of worker’s demonstrations from the police. It was formed by James Larkin and Jack White. Other prominent members included James Connolly, Seán O'Casey, Constance Markievicz,...

, a socialist, Republican movement. James Connolly

James Connolly

James Connolly was an Irish republican and socialist leader. He was born in the Cowgate area of Edinburgh, Scotland, to Irish immigrant parents and spoke with a Scottish accent throughout his life. He left school for working life at the age of 11, but became one of the leading Marxist theorists of...

, co-founder of the Irish Citizen Army with Jack White, said the significance of the banner was that a free Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 would control its own destiny from the plough

Plough

The plough or plow is a tool used in farming for initial cultivation of soil in preparation for sowing seed or planting. It has been a basic instrument for most of recorded history, and represents one of the major advances in agriculture...

 to the stars.

This was flown by the Irish Citizen Army during the 1916 Easter Rising

Easter Rising

The Easter Rising was an insurrection staged in Ireland during Easter Week, 1916. The Rising was mounted by Irish republicans with the aims of ending British rule in Ireland and establishing the Irish Republic at a time when the British Empire was heavily engaged in the First World War...

.

The flag depicts the constellation

Constellation

In modern astronomy, a constellation is an internationally defined area of the celestial sphere. These areas are grouped around asterisms, patterns formed by prominent stars within apparent proximity to one another on Earth's night sky....

 of Ursa Major

Ursa Major

Ursa Major , also known as the Great Bear, is a constellation visible throughout the year in most of the northern hemisphere. It can best be seen in April...

, known as The Plough in Ireland and Britain, or in the US, the Big Dipper

Big Dipper

The Plough, also known as the Big Dipper or the Saptarishi , is an asterism of seven stars that has been recognized as a distinct grouping in many cultures from time immemorial...

. Ursa Major (Latin for "Great Bear"; orig. Greek: "Megali Arktos", "Μεγάλη Άρκτος") is one of the most prominent features of the night sky over Ireland throughout the year.

While similar to the state flag of Alaska

Flag of Alaska

The flag of the state of Alaska consists of eight gold stars, forming the Big Dipper and the North Star, on a dark blue field.The Big Dipper is an asterism in the constellation Ursa Major which symbolizes a bear, an animal indigenous to Alaska...

, it predates Alaska's by more than a decade.

Starry Plough, 1930s to present

The original Starry Plough showed silver stars on a green background. During the 1930s the design changed to that of the blue banner on the right, which was designed by members of the Republican Congress

Republican Congress

The Republican Congress was an Irish republican political organisation founded in 1934, when left-wing republicans left the Irish Republican Army. The Congress was led by such IRA veterans as Peadar O'Donnell, Frank Ryan and George Gilmore. It was a socialist organisation and was dedicated to a...

, and was adopted as the emblem of the Irish Labour movement, including the Irish Labour Party. Labour adopted the rose as its official emblem in 1991 but continue to use the Starry Plough for ceremonial occasions. It is also claimed by Irish republicans and has been carried alongside the Irish tricolour and Irish provincial flags and the sunburst flag, as well as the Red flag

Red flag

In politics, a red flag is a symbol of Socialism, or Communism, or sometimes left-wing politics in general. It has been associated with left-wing politics since the French Revolution. Socialists adopted the symbol during the Revolutions of 1848 and it became a symbol of communism as a result of its...

 at Provisional IRA, Continuity IRA, Official IRA

Official IRA

The Official Irish Republican Army or Official IRA is an Irish republican paramilitary group whose goal was to create a "32-county workers' republic" in Ireland. It emerged from a split in the Irish Republican Army in December 1969, shortly after the beginning of "The Troubles"...

 and Irish National Liberation Army

Irish National Liberation Army

The Irish National Liberation Army or INLA is an Irish republican socialist paramilitary group that was formed on 8 December 1974. Its goal is to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and create a socialist united Ireland....

 rallies

Demonstration (people)

A demonstration or street protest is action by a mass group or collection of groups of people in favor of a political or other cause; it normally consists of walking in a mass march formation and either beginning with or meeting at a designated endpoint, or rally, to hear speakers.Actions such as...

.

The flag, and alternative versions of it, are also used by éirígí

Éirígí

-External links:*...

, the Connolly Youth Movement

Connolly Youth Movement

The Connolly Youth Movement is an all-Ireland youth organisation affiliated to the Communist Party of Ireland but which is also strongly independent and organises separately from the CPI. Internationally the Connolly Youth Movement is affiliated to the World Federation of Democratic Youth...

, Labour Youth

Labour Youth

Labour Youth is the youth wing of the Labour Party of Ireland. Anyone under the age of 27 is eligible to join Labour Youth....

, Ógra Shinn Féin

Ógra Shinn Féin

Ógra Shinn Féin is the youth wing of the Irish political party Sinn Féin. ÓSF is active and organised throughout Ireland. It is often considered the most prominent incarnation of Fianna Éireann. Upon its establishment in 1997 it was originally known as Sinn Féin Youth, it changed to Ógra Shinn...

 the Republican Socialist Youth Movement

Republican Socialist Youth Movement

The Republican Socialist Youth Movement ' is the youth organization of the Irish Republican Socialist Movement.-See also:*Ógra Shinn Féin*Fianna Éireann*Socialist Youth...

, and socialist Celtic FC supporters. The flag was draped on the coffin of the Independent TD

TD

TD may stand for:* Atlantis European Airways IATA designator* MG TD Midget, a car manufactured in the United Kingdom between 1950 and 1953* TD, an ITU prefix assigned to Guatemala * T.D...

 Tony Gregory

Tony Gregory

Tony Gregory was an Irish Independent politician and a Teachta Dála for the Dublin Central constituency from 1982 to 2009.-Early life:...

 during his funeral. The older banner featuring the plough is still occasionally used today by the Irish Republican Socialist Party

Irish Republican Socialist Party

The Irish Republican Socialist Party or IRSP is a republican socialist party active in Ireland. It claims the legacy of socialist revolutionary James Connolly, who founded the Irish Socialist Republican Party in 1896 and was executed after the Easter Rising of 1916.- History :The Irish Republican...

, Sinn Féin

Sinn Féin

Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...

 and the Workers' Party of Ireland

Workers' Party of Ireland

The Workers' Party is a left-wing republican political party in Ireland. Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970 after a split within the party, adopting its current name in 1982....

, formerly Official Sinn Féin.