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Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, Ireland

image by Olivier Touzeau, 30 August 2019

County Flag
Mountains to the Sea flag
Dún Laoghaire Peoples' Heritage Flag

See also:

County Flag

In 1986, the county of Dublin was divided into three "electoral counties": Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, Dublin-Fingal, and Dublin-Belgard. In 1994, Dublin County Council and the Corporation of Dún Laoghaire were abolished and the three electoral counties became administrative counties: Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, Fingal, and South Dublin. In 2001, the administrative counties were redesignated as simply counties. The three counties together with Dublin city constitute the Dublin Region. Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County is located between the outer suburbs of Dublin City and the Dublin/Wicklow Mountains on the East Coast of Ireland. It has a population of about 207,000 people.

We show below the "Mountains to the Sea" flag design concept by Andrew Gerard Ball, created in 2013. According to Michael Merrigan, County Councillor from May 2009 to May 2014 and from May 2014 to May 2019, and Co-founder of Vexillology Ireland, on his page about his activity in the county council before 2014:
"The specially designed ‘Mountains to the Sea’ flag, created by Andrew Gerard Ball, flies over County Hall in Dún Laoghaire each evening and at weekends."
Source: https://votemerrigan.ie/record-of-community-activism-prior-to-election-in-2014/
First appearance of the flag in May 2013: https://votemerrigan.ie/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/2013-05-09-15.57.33.jpg
The "Mountains to the Sea" flag flying together with a white flag with the coat of arms of the county: https://votemerrigan.ie/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Flag.jpg

As far as I know, from local sources, the "Mountains to the Sea" flag has been flown only in 2013-2014.

The flag of the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, as it can be seen inside the council room, is the white flag with coat of arms. You can see it for example here, during the twinning ceremony betwen the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown county council and the French city of Vincennes, in April 2019: https://www.facebook.com/CharlotteLibertAlbanel/posts/2380308875364504
Olivier Touzeau, 30 August 2019

Mountains to the Sea flag

image by Michael Merrigan, 23 May 2013

"Mountains to the Sea" flag design concept by Andrew Gerard Ball with project artwork and graphics by Frank Lee Cooper - May 2013.

The flag design is taken from the County motto "Ó Chuan go Sliabh" which has been loosely translated as "from the Mountains to the Sea" and depicts a stylised mountain by the sea with the shamrock taken from the 1994 coat-of-arms of Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council.

The design brief was that the flag should be "significant, distinctive and contemporary" and be "easily recognisable and identifiable" when flying is a high wind or not.

The design concept by Australian born and long-time Dún Laoghaire resident, Andrew Gerard Ball, was based on the current logo of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council and with the shamrock taken from the coat-of-arms of the County Council joining the traditional heraldic design with the modern logo. The addition of the shamrock (or trefoil) from the coat-of-arms provides the design with a major signifier of 'Ireland' and of Irish heritage, the flag is a beautiful modern and distinctive representation of entire County of Dún Laoghaire Rathdown - from the Mountains to the Sea.

Frank Lee Cooper from Dún Laoghaire provided the professional artwork and graphics for the project which brought the original design concept vividly to life as shown in the attached photographs.

The flag was crafted in cloth by the bespoke Dublin flag-makers, O'Regan's of Pearse Street, and was presented by An Tánaiste (Irish Deputy Prime Minister), Éamon Gilmore, TD, to Special Guest, Mr. Graham Bartram, FFI, MGSI, of The Flag Institute in the UK, to mark the opening ceremony for Bratacha 2013 - Festival of Flags & Emblems at the unveiling of "Europe in Bloom" in Cabinteely Park on Thursday May 9th 2013.

Michael Merrigan, 23 May 2013

Dún Laoghaire Peoples' Heritage Flag

image provided by Michael Merrigan

Design: diagonal gold over St. Patrick’s blue with a black bull’s head on the gold and a white Celtic cross on the blue
Significance: gold for the High Kingship of Ireland – the land of the Celtic Sun God Lugh – in the 5th century the twilight years of pagan Celtic Ireland.

black bull for High King Laoghaire Mac Niall the eponymous founder of Dún Laoghaire in the fifth century AD – Laoghaire from the Irish for “calf-herder” – the bull or tarbh was sacred to the Celts.
blue – commonly called St Patrick’s blue, representing the Ancient Kingdom of Ireland and the sea - representing the area’s rich maritime heritage.
white Celtic Cross signifies the arrival of Christianity to Ireland during the reign of High King Laoghaire with the mission of St. Patrick and the dawn of Irish recorded history.

Designer: local artist, Veronica Heywood from a historical concept by Michael Merrigan (2003) for use by Dún Laoghaire Town Football Club, Dún Laoghaire Community Association and other community organisations in Dún Laoghaire, County Dublin, Ireland.
Arms: the design is also used as the Arms of Dún Laoghaire Town Football Club Limited – per bend or – a bull’s head caboshed sable; azure – a Celtic cross argent.
Flag: the “Dún Laoghaire Peoples’ Heritage Flag” was made by Dublin Flagmakers – O’Regan of Pearse Street, Dublin and first flown in Holyhead, north Wales during a soccer match between Dún Laoghaire Town Football Club and Holyhead Hotspur in May 2004 and has been used since in community parades, events and campaigns in Dún Laoghaire, County Dublin, Ireland.

Michael Merrigan
Hon. Secretary, Genealogical Society of Ireland, 6 June 2005