Starry Plough (flag)

Starry Plough (flag)

The Starry Plough banner was originally used by the Irish Citizen Army, a socialist, Republican movement. James Connolly, co-founder of the Irish Citizen Army with Jack White, said the significance of the banner was that a free Ireland would control its own destiny from the plough to the stars.

The original Starry plough was unveiled in 1914 and flown by the Irish Citizen Army during the 1916 Easter Rising. The flag depicts the constellation of Ursa Major, known as The Plough in Ireland and Britain, or in the US, the Big Dipper. Ursa Major (Latin for "Great Bear"; orig. Greek: "Megali Arktos", "Μεγάλη Άρκτος") is one of the most prominent features of the night sky over Ireland throughout the year.

While similar to the state flag of Alaska, it predates Alaska's by more than a decade.