Irish tricolour shouldn’t be used to celebrate St Patrick’s Day in NI, says DUP councillor

The politician's comments have provoked a strong reaction online.

Dungannon councillor Clement Cuthbertson took to Facebook earlier this week to issue what he called "an annual reminder" ahead of St Patrick's Day on Tuesday, 17 March.

He wrote: "When we will be celebrating St Patrick, to all who seem to be confused every year around St Patrick’s Day and the flag of St Patrick, St Patrick’s Cross is the flag which should be used to celebrate St Patrick’s Day in Northern Ireland - not the flag belonging to the Republic of Ireland.

"The flag is known as 'the cross of Saint Patrick' and is a red saltire on a white background. It has been associated with Patrick for many centuries.

"Together, 'the Cross of Saint Patrick', 'the Cross of Saint George' and 'the Cross of Saint Andrew' form the Union Flag."

The politician also posted the following image, alongside the statement:

Cuthbertson's post went viral, garnering at the time of writing 1,400 comments and over 215 shares.

Many Facebook users took to the comment section to challenge what the DUP councillor said.

One person wrote: "If it is an Irish holiday, it should be honoured with an Irish flag."

Another said: "Patron saint of Ireland, whose flag is the tricolour, simplez."

A third FB user joked: "Imagine using an Irish flag to celebrate the patron saint of Ireland."

A fourth added: "A lot of Irish people use St Patrick's Day to celebrate being Irish, myself included.

"So, therefore, I will now and will always use the tricolour to celebrate St Patrick's Day.

"If someone has a problem with that, then that is their problem, not mine."