User:The C of E/riyc

The Royal Irish Yacht Club was founded in 1831 in Kingstown (later renamed Dún Laoghaire), Ireland. In that same year, theclub were granted an ensign by the Admiralty of a white ensign with the Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Ireland beneath the Union Jack in canton. In the club's constitution, it was unique amongst yacht clubs in that it required yacht owners to provide the club's commodore with information about the coast and any fisheries they encountered on their voyages. In 1846, the club was granted the club permission to use the Royal prefix by Queen Victoria. The club built a new clubhouse in 1851.

In 1848, a yachting trophy called "Her Majesty's Plate" being established by The Queen to be contested at Kingstown where the Royal Irish Yacht Club is based. The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, George Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon suggested it should be contested by the Royal Irish Yacht Club and the Royal St. George Yacht Club in an annual regatta.

Ensign
WThe club's original British white ensign was granted by Royal Warrant in 1831. Though the Royal Irish Yacht Club later changed the ensign to remove the St George's Cross and replace the Union Jack with the flag of the Republic of Ireland in canton, the original ensign may still be used by British members of the Royal Irish Yacht Club.