No more RGI flag sequences

[Michael Everson]

On 7 Feb 2021, at 19:33, Mark Davis ☕️ via Unicode <unicode at unicode.org> wrote:
> 
> The main issue for making N. Ireland be RGI was the lack of an official flag. It is valid (🏴󠁧󠁢󠁮󠁩󠁲󠁿).

This is the mistake that the Consortium made. There is a flag which is widely and publicly in use. What is “official” or “unofficial” about it is a decision taken without due consideration to the realities of the political settlement in Britain and Ireland.

Who uses flags and why? Nationalists in the North may prefer to use the Irish tricolour 🇮🇪. Unionists may wish to use the Union flag 🇬🇧. Who cares? That’s for people who want to refer to a national flag. The fact of the matter is that the United Kingdom is composed of three countries and one province. And in reality, FOUR flags are used particularly in sport. 

"The Ulster Banner was carried by the Northern Ireland team in the Commonwealth Games. It is also regularly displayed by supporters of the Northern Ireland national football team and is displayed by FIFA as the flag of Northern Ireland.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Northern_Ireland

The decision to refuse to include the Ulster Banner for Northern Ireland was a really dumb decision. No good was served by it. Instead of using common sense, “the lack of an official flag” was used as an excuse. It doesn’t make the Consortium look good. 

Michael Everson