<Tr> <Th> Design </Th> <Td> A vertical tricolour of green, white and orange </Td> </Tr> <P> The national flag of Ireland (Irish: bratach na hÉireann)--frequently referred to as the Irish tricolour (trídhathach na hÉireann)--is the national flag and ensign of the Republic of Ireland . The flag itself is a vertical tricolour of green (at the hoist), white and orange . </P> <P> The proportions of the flag are 1: 2 (that is to say, flown horizontally, the flag is half as high as it is wide). The Irish government has described the symbolism behind each colour as being that "green represents the older Gaelic tradition while the orange represents the supporters of William of Orange . The white in the centre signifies a lasting truce between the' Orange' and the' Green' ." </P> <P> Presented as a gift in 1848 to Thomas Francis Meagher from a small group of French women sympathetic to the Irish cause, it was not until the Easter Rising of 1916, when it was raised above the General Post Office in Dublin, that the tricolour came to be regarded as the national flag . The flag was adopted by the Irish Republic during the Irish War of Independence (1919--1921). </P>

What does the orange on the irish flag mean