If Commonwealth Games mandarins in Northern Ireland get their way, the province will not compete under the traditional Ulster banner when the 2026 competition is next held in Glasgow. Instead, Northern Irish athletes are likely to be represented by a white flag decorated with a bland corporate logo, making them look more like residents of an unrecognised territory than citizens of a UK region with a proud history of sporting achievement.

This proposal is the brainchild of Conal Heatley, chief executive of the Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland (CWGNI) organisation, and its committee chairman, Stephen Martin, a former Olympic hockey medallist. They claim that the Ulster banner, often known as the Northern Ireland flag, is offensive to “parts of the community,” — a euphemism for Irish nationalists, who oppose the jurisdiction’s very existence. Indeed, in the Belfast News Letter, Mr Heatley attempted to link the symbol to “race hate” incidents, despite the fact that some participants in the summer immigration riots actually carried Irish tricolours.

Heatley and Martin’s argument is that the flag no longer has official status — it represented the old government in Northern Ireland that was prorogued in 1972 — so it is inappropriate to represent contemporary sports teams. Northern Ireland’s official flag is the Union Flag, but it is not apparently suitable either, as it is not distinctive to the region, unlike the Scottish saltire, the Welsh dragon or the English cross of St George. 

They either hate the fact that this place exists or they want to placate those who hate its existence

The CWGNI has demanded that the executive at Stormont commission new, inclusive emblems. But given that that is not going to happen, it plans in the meantime to remove the existing symbols from the Commonwealth team. Under these proposals, the flag would be replaced in the next competition by a white banner bearing the organisation’s own logo. That may be packaged as a blow for “inclusivity”, but its proponents will know that it is divisive and inflammatory, as unionist politicians’ furious reaction showed. 

The existing Ulster Banner includes the traditional red hand of Ulster, a red cross, a crown and a six pointed star, representing NI’s counties. It is recognised widely as Northern Ireland’s flag and has become associated inextricably with many of the province’s most memorable sporting feats. Indeed, like other aspects of Northern Irishness, it has gained greater acceptance in recent years, as younger people embraced the idea of a unique identity, rather than simply seeing themselves as British or Irish.

When the Ulster rugby team became European champions, in 1999, the final was staged in Dublin. During that occasion, the Republic’s capital was bedecked with the red and white Northern Ireland flags. That caused no controversy, as the match was equally momentous for Northern Irish sports enthusiasts and Irish rugby fans. Northern Ireland’s national football team, which features players spanning both sides of the religious and political divide, also competed proudly under the banner when it qualified for world cups in 1982 and 1986. More recently, it was displayed across France in 2016, when Michael O’Neill’s side played in the European Championships.

Northern Ireland’s golfers have not been shy about using the symbol either, with Rory McIlroy and others celebrating major trophy wins and Ryder Cup victories under the banner. The flag is used by broadcasters to identify competitors from the province, brandished by athletes celebrating their triumphs and displayed by fans showing support for their favourite sportspeople. Ironically, given the content of this proposal, at the Commonwealth Games, Northern Ireland competitors often wave it with equal enthusiasm, whether they represent Team Ireland or Team GB in the Olympics.

There was simply not a major issue with the flag until the bigwigs at the CWGNI insisted that they were going to make it a problem. In fact, their plan will entrench many unionists’ suspicions that, in a province where Sinn Fein is the biggest party, nothing that represents Northern Ireland’s uniqueness, still less its place in the UK, is immune from attack.

There is no realistic prospect that the Stormont executive will agree to new “inclusive” symbols, as the CWGNI has demanded. Forty per-cent of the ministers that govern the province hate Northern Ireland and everything associated with it. They have no interest in a flag, no matter how bland, that could potentially entrench Northern Irish identity or win over people who previously thought of themselves only as Irish. 

As the News Letter’s editorial pointed out earlier this week, Northern Ireland was scarcely allowed to mark its centenary in 2021, such was the sullen resentment of its enemy within and the cringing deference of the so-called “middle ground” to separatist sensibilities. A church service, broadcast on the BBC, barely mentioned the region’s official name, never mind celebrating the achievements of its people, their contributions to the United Kingdom, or the sense of belonging that they share.

These days at the helm of almost every organisation in the province, you will find those who want to strip away symbols that represent Northern Ireland or reflect its membership of the UK. They either hate the fact that this place exists or they want to placate those who hate its existence. Their advice, and their interference in politics, should be firmly rejected.