Flags And Emblems (display) Act (northern Ireland) 1954 Article Index for
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Flags And Emblems (display) Act (northern Ireland) 1954




It was bitterly resented by Nationalists who saw the Act as being deliberately designed to suppress their identity, as they regarded the flag as their own. Although it did not refer explicitly to the Irish tricolour, the Act gave the Royal Ulster Constabulary the power to remove any flag or emblem which was deemed to be likely to cause a Breach Of The Peace , and this wording was designed to refer to the aforementioned flag. It declared that the display of the Union Jack could never be regarded as likely to cause such a breach.

Violations of the Act were punishable by up to a fine up to £500, or up to five years in prison.

The enforcement of the Act would often lead to rioting, most notoriously in October 1964 on the Lower Falls in Belfast .

The Belfast Street Names Act, which banned given streets names in the Irish Language , was regarded by many as a similarly Sectarian law.


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