Sheffield Council apologises for flying Welsh flag on St Patrick's Day

Social media users left confused after famous red dragon is 'raised in error'

A spokesperson for the council said the Welsh dragon was raised 'in error' (Dave Johnson)

Sheffield City Council has apologised for flying the Welsh flag on St Patrick’s Day.

A Twitter user posted a photo on Sunday of the white and green flag, with its famous red dragon emblem, flying over Sheffield’s town tall.

“Er, is there a particular reason the Welsh flag is flying above the Sheffield Town Hall on St Patrick’s Day?” @helencshipley asked.

The authority merely added to the confusion when it issued a statement congratulating the Welsh rugby union team for its Six Nations grand slam win.

“While we’re at it, we would like to congratulate Wales on their fantastic victory in the Six Nations at the weekend and wish everyone a Happy St Patrick’s Day, too,” a spokesperson for the council said.

Wales routed Ireland on Saturday, the final day of the tournament, in a 25-7 victory.

Eventually the council apologised for its error and for the tone of its first statement, according to The Sheffield Star.

“We are very sorry that the Welsh flag was raised in error yesterday rather than the St Patrick’s flag,” a spokesperson for the authority said on Monday.

“We are also sorry for any offence caused by our earlier statement.”

“It’s a little bit sad that they couldn’t differentiate between the flags,” said Chrissy Meleady, of the Irish People’s Forum in Sheffield.

“We’ve had Irish people here since 1455 and we’ve made major contributions to this city down the generations,” she told the BBC.

“Even this town hall, all of the flag work, all of the artistic work, the carvings were done by Irish artisans.”

Additional reporting by agencies