the Red Hand of Ireland

From Ripley's Believe It or Not
The strangest victory in all history!

Heremon O'Neil racing a rival chieftain for possession of Ireland became
the first man to touch its soil by cutting off his own hand and hurling
it ashore!

His sacrifice made Heremon the first king of Ulster! 1015 B.C.

The RED HAND OF ULSTER is still the province's coat of arms
2,968 years later! strangest victory in all history!

The O'Neils were kings in Ireland antecedent to Christianity, and were chiefs of Tyrone when the memorable rebellion of 1597 broke out under their auspices.

DUNGANNON, dun gan' non, a parliamentary and municipal borough and market-town of Ireland, in Ulster, co. of Tyrone, 11 miles N.N.W. of Armagh. Pop. 3801. It stands on a hill-slope, consists of an old and a new town, is regularly and pretty well built, and has a good church, an endowed royal school, founded in 1628, fever hospital, several branch banks, and manufactures of linen and earthenware. The borough sends one member to the House of Commons. Dungannon was the chief seat of the O'Neils, Kings of Ulster from the earliest period of Irish history till 1607, when the last of these powerful chieftans fled to the Continent, and his possessios were granted by James I, to Arthur Chichester.

Title: Red Hand of Ulster
Description: The Red Hand of Ulster is the official seal of the O'Neil family. It is believed to originate from a mythical tale wherein two chieftains were racing across a stretch of water in a bid to be the first to reach the land and claim it as his own. Realising his foe would touch the land first, one chieftain cut off his hand and threw it onto the shore, thereby claiming the land before his adversary reached it. The Red Hand is one of the only emblems in Northern Ireland used by both communities in Northern Ireland although it is more associated with the Protestant community. Catholics see it as representing the nine counties of Ulster while Protestants see it as representing the six counties of Northern Ireland. The Red Hand of Ulster appears on many murals and flags.