| Coat of arms of Munster | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Versions | |
 The banner of arms, which serves as provincial flag | |
| Armiger | Munster |
| Shield | Azure, three antique crowns Or |
The coat of arms of Munster consists of three gold crowns on a blue field. Similar crowns were included on the arms of Ireland before being superseded by the golden harp in the 16th century.[1]
The meaning of the three crowns is not certain,[2] but one possibility is that they may represent three of the medieval Hiberno-Norman lordships in Munster; the O'Briens (Thomond), the Butlers (Ormond) and the Fitzgeralds (Desmond).[3] Other sources suggest that the arms (dark blue, three antique crowns Or) are derived from the short-lived dukedom of Ireland created for Robert de Vere in 1386.[4] Further sources suggest that the crown motif dates to the earlier Kingdom of Munster, based on a thirteenth-century crozier head which was decorated with a crown on a blue enamel surface and found near the Rock of Cashel, the seat of the Gaelic Irish Kings of Munster.[5]
The crowns are usually depicted as "antique" or "eastern": a gold rim with eight sharp, triangular rays, of which five are seen.[6]
- ^ MacLysaght 1949, p. 61: "the 'azure three antique crowns or' of Munster was, without question, regarded as the Arms of Ireland prior to the adoption by Henry VII and Elizabeth of the harp motif".
- ^ Munster Rugby website.
- ^ Clan Corrigan.
- ^ Kennedy 1991, "the arms of the lordship, the three crowns arms within a bordure Argent, were granted to Robert de Vere as an augmentation by Richard II in 1386 [..] Munster’s arms, which appear to have been derived from those of the former lordship (A) above".
- ^ National Library of Ireland.
- ^ Boutell & Fox-Davies 1914, p. 160.