What is it that prompts the BBC Talkback programme to hype
up the 'flags issue' each year in Northern Ireland, on the
run up to the Twelfth period?
Some years ago it was the bonfires which were the subject
of so much discussion, most of it negative, on Talkback, but
that has been relegated to the back burner, well behind flags.
There was, admittedly, some merit in what was said about
badly organised and poorly sited bonfires, and the BBC was
certainly entitled to spotlight an issue which often annoyed
Protestants as much as Roman Catholics.
But a lot has been done to improve the bonfire situation,
and most organisers now go out of their way to ensure that
fires are properly sited and supervised, with every effort
to ensure that they do not become eyesores.
But the flags issue is entirely different, and one is entitled
to ask why this should be the subject for so much discussion
on Talkback.
David Dunseath, presenter of this popular programme, is fond
of declaring to his listeners, "Flags! You really do
love them" as he pontificates on the subject.
It's usually the Union Flag and the Ulster Flag which figure
in the lively exchanges between listeners, and it is only
occasionally that the point is made about Irish tricolours
giving offence when they are flown so often in republican
areas of Northern Ireland.
Why should there be any controversy over the flying of the
Union Jack in this loyal part of the United Kingdom? There
may be many flags flying in Northern Ireland, but it still
doesn't compare with many other countries in this respect.
Anyone who has visited the United States and Canada, for
example, can testify to this.
In the United States, the Stars and Stripes fly everywhere,
and not just on public buildings. It flies on shops, restaurants,
filling stations, and even cemeteries.
In Canada, the flag of that nation is also prominently displayed,
and again it is not just on public buildings like town halls
or courthouses.
Many Canadian householders fly their national flag, and many
also fly the Union Jack. In Ontario, the flag of that province,
which has a Union Jack in the corner is also flying from many
buildings.
None of this evokes the same controversy as that stirred
up each year in Northern Ireland.
And you don't have to go as far as North America to find
examples of flags flying in profusion. A short distance from
the UK, in the Republic of Ireland to be precise, the tricolour
flies in great numbers.
Many other national flags are flown in Dublin and other cities,
especially from hotels. There is one notable exception - the
Union Jack. In spite of all the talk about more cordial relationships
between the two countries, there is a marked reluctance in
the Republic to fly the flag of its neighbour.
Perhaps this notable omission might form the basis for a
special programme, or series of programmes on Talkback.
And while on the subject of the Union Jack flying in Northern
Ireland, let's not be apologetic about it. The Union Flag
is the visible symbol of the freedom and democracy we enjoy
as part of the United Kingdom.
It is right and proper that the Union Jack should be displayed
and honoured in this part of Her Majesty's kingdom. But it
must be flown in a manner which is fitting, and never in a
way that can be claimed to be provocative or insensitive.
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