pink flag of the Natives' Society, while the Catholic Irish used green banners. The threat of violence was such that Bishop Fleming intervened, and persuaded them to adopt a common flag, on which the pink and green would be separated by a white stripe to symbolize peace. The pink symbolized the Tudor Rose of England (The Protestants) and the Green symbolized St. Patrick's Emblem of Ireland (The Catholics). The White is taken from St. Andrew's Cross (St. Andrew is the Patron Saint of Fishermen and Scotland). This legend, its symbolism and origins, have all been disproven by historical evidence. In reality, the Newfoundland "pink, white and green" tricolour did not appear until at least 41 years after the inception of the Irish tricolour and was almost certainly based on the Irish flag. There is no primary source documentary historical evidence contemporary to Fleming's time linking Fleming with the creation of the tricolour. Any such associations are purely fanciful, and can be seen to have largely originated in the writings of the entertainer and writer Paul O'Neill. Expansion Fleming's greatest domestic projects, the ones for which he became best remembered, were the recruiting of two orders of Irish religious women to work as teachers, and the construction of a new cathedral for St. John's. In 1833 at Fleming's request, the Presentation Sisters came to Newfoundland from Galway and opened a school for children. Within weeks the sisters were inundated with new pupils, the children of the Irish of St. John's, who saw education as the best means of economic and social advancement. In 1842, Fleming invited the Sisters of Mercy to come to teach girls and to help create a Catholic middle class. Through Fleming's influence, the Education Act of 1836 introduced the precedent of granting state funds to denominations for educational purposes. In 1847, Bishop Fleming recruited four brothers of the order of Irish Franciscasns to come to Newfoundland to teach at the Benevolent Irish Society's school. Through the 1830s, Fleming pursued a grant of land on which to build a cathedral. By 1838 the land was awarded, and construction began, continuing until 1855. The cathedral was the largest building project in 19th century Newfoundland, and thereafter became the definitive icon of Newfoundland Catholicism. Fleming died in 1850 and was buried in his cathedral. Honors On 9 September 2005, the 150th anniversary of the consecration of Fleming's cathedral, a plaque