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The
arms were
designed in 2018
by the Irish
Herald of Arms
Michael
O’Comain.
The red Chinese
dragon
represents the
armiger’s strong
connection with
the island of
Taiwan. The
armiger worked
as a Consultant
on the Taiwan
High-Speed
Railway project,
both before and
after the
railway’s entry
into service in
2007. The
armiger was born
in the year of
the Wood Dragon
in the Chinese
zodiac. His
official name in
Chinese, adopted
when his
daughter was
born in Taiwan,
includes ‘Lucky
Dragon’ (劉瑞龍).
The red Chinese
dragon on the
shield, with its
circular shape,
is a charge
previously
unknown in Irish
heraldry, which
required the
Herald of Arms
to use
innovative
blazonry, using
globular to
describe the
dragon’s
posture.
The parallel
lines at the top
of the shield
represent
railway tracks
and are an
acknowledgement
of the armiger’s
25-year career
in the railway
industry, as
well as many
British and
Irish ancestors
who worked on
the railways,
one of whom
tragically lost
his life in an
accident at
Westland Row
Station in
Dublin in 1926.
The oak tree in
the crest
represents the
armiger’s
Bachelor’s
degree in
environmental
science and time
spent doing
conservation
volunteer work
for the National
Trust
organisation,
whose logo is a
sprig of oak
leaves and
acorns.
The motto Adapt
or Perish is a
quote from the
Victorian
science fiction
writer HG Wells
who lived in the
armiger’s
adopted home
town in the UK.
It refers to the
importance of
moving with the
times, embracing
change and
keeping up to
date with
technological
advances in this
fast-changing
world.
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