President of Ireland
The
President of Ireland (
Irish:
Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the
head of state of the
Republic of Ireland. The President is usually directly elected by the people for seven years, and can be elected for a maximum of two terms. The presidency is largely a ceremonial office, but the President does exercise certain limited powers at his/her absolute discretion. The office was established by the
Constitution of Ireland in
1937. The President's official residence is
Áras an Uachtaráin in
Dublin. The current office-holder is
President Mary McAleese.
Main article: Irish presidential election
|
Irish presidential standard,
adopted in 1945 |
The President is formally elected by the people once every seven years, except in the event of premature vacancy, when an election must be held within sixty days. The President is directly elected by secret ballot under the
Alternative Vote form of the Single Transferable Vote system
[The Single Transferable Vote (STV) is also used in elections to Dáil Éireann, when it is known as proportional representation by means of the Single Transferable Vote (PR-STV). However, when, as in a presidential election, it is used for the election of just a single candidate, STV is one and the same as the Alternative Vote system. There are important differences between PR-STV and the Alternative Vote. The term the "Alternative Vote" is, however, rarely used in Ireland. The President is usually simply said to be elected by STV or, incorrectly, by "proportional representation". While the constitution itself states that the President is elected under the system of "proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote" (Article 12.2.3) this is technically incorrect, because the term proportional representation can only meaningfully be applied to an election in which more than a single candidate is returned. Both the Constitution Review Group and the All-Party Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution have therefore recommended that the words proprotional representation be deleted from the article that provides for the election of the President.]. While both Irish and
UK citizens resident in the state may vote in elections to
Dáil Éireann (the lower house of parliament), only Irish citizens, who must be at least eighteen years of age, may vote in the election of the President. The presidency is open to all citizens of the state who are at least 35. A candidate must, however be nominated by one of the following:
* At least twenty members of the
Oireachtas (national parliament).
* At least four
county or
city councils.
* Themselves (in the case of an incumbent or former president).
Where only one candidate is nominated, he or she is deemed elected without the need for a ballot. For this reason, where there is a consensus among political parties not to have a contest, the President may be 'elected' without the occurrence of an actual ballot. Since the establishment of the office this has occurred on six occasions. No one may be elected as President more than twice.
Under the wording of the constitution and the relevant
statute law a candidate's election formally takes place in the form of a 'declaration' by the returning officer. Where more than one candidate is nominated, the election is 'suspended' so that a ballot can take place, allowing the electors to choose between candidates.
The
Constitution of Ireland provides for a
parliamentary system of government, under which the role of the head of state is largely a ceremonial one. Most of the functions of the President may only be carried out in accordance with the strict instructions of the Constitution, or the binding 'advice' of the
Government. The President does, however, possess certain personal powers, that may be exercised at her discretion. Unlike the presidents of many other republics, the President of Ireland is neither the nominal nor
de facto chief executive officer of the state. Rather, executive authority is expressly vested in the Government (cabinet). The Government is obliged, however, to keep the President generally informed on matters of domestic and foreign policy.
Ceremonial functions
*
Appoints the Government: The President appoints the
Taoiseach (head of government) and other ministers, and accepts their resignations. The Taoiseach is appointed upon the nomination of
Dáil Éireann (the lower house of parliament), and the remainder of the cabinet upon the nomination of the Taoiseach. Ministers are dimissed on the advice of the Taoiseach and the Taoiseach must, unless there is a dissolution of the Dáil, resign upon losing the confidence of the house. On the advice of the Government, the President also appoints members of the judiciary.
*
Convenes and dissolves Dáil Éireann: Save where exercising the right, under his or her reserve powers, to refuse a dissolution in certain circumstances, this power is exercised on the advice of the Government.
*
Signs bills into law: The president is formally one of three tiers of the
Oireachtas (national parliament). The President may not, unless exercising one of her reserve powers, veto a law that the Dáil and the
Senate have adopted.
*
Represents the state in foreign affairs: This power is exercised only on the advice of the Government. The President accredits ambassadors and receives the letters of credence of foreign diplomats. Ministers sign international treaties in the President's name. This role was not exercised by the President prior to 1949, see
Irish head of state from 1937-1949.
*Is
supreme commander of the
Defence Forces, in this role somewhat similar in statute to that of a
commander-in-chief. This is a nominal position, the powers of which are exercised on the advice of the Government. See
Minister for Defense.
*
Power of pardon: The President, on the advice of the Government, has "the right of pardon and the power to commute or remit punishment". This power has only being used once, in the case of the
Sallins Train Robbery; it had been announced by the Irish Government that it would be used to pardon the so called
IRA 'on the runs' as part of the
Northern Ireland peace process, but the Government later abandoned this plan after the British Government similarly abandoned a
de facto amnesty for 'on the runs'.
|
The garden front, Áras an Uachtaráin.
The garden front is the only part of the building that can be seen by passing members of the public. People often mistake it for the less well known entrance of the building, which faces onto parkland not visible to the public. |
Special limitations
*The President may not leave the state without the consent of the Government.
*Every formal address or message "to the nation" or to either or both Houses of the Oireachtas must have prior approval of the Government. Other than on these two (quite rare) occasions there is no limitation on the President's right to speak. While earlier presidents were exceptionally cautious in delivering speeches and on almost every occasion submitted them for vetting, presidents
Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese have made much more use of their right to speak without government approval, with Mary McAleese doing many live radio and television interviews. Nonetheless, by convention Presidents refrain from direct criticism of the government.
The President possesses the following powers which he/she may exercise at his/her absolute discretion. It is required that, before exercising certain reserve powers, the President consult the
Council of State. However, the President is not compelled to act in accordance with the council's advice.
Refusal of a Dáil dissolution
 |
The historic Blue Hussars assembled at the inauguration of Douglas Hyde as first President of Ireland, in June 1938.
The Blue Hussars on horseback were disbanded in the late 1940s and replaced by motorbike outriders. |
Presidents may refuse to grant a dissolution of
Dáil Éireann to a
Taoiseach who has "ceased to retain the support of a majority" of the house. In such an event, the Taoiseach must resign immediately. This power has never been invoked but the necessary circumstances existed in 1944, 1982 and 1994.
Since this power must be exercised by the President's "absolute discretion" according to the English language version of the constitution, or, under the Irish language wording of the constitution
as a chomhairle féin which is usually translated as "under his own counsel", it is considered inappropriate for the president to be contacted by the leaders of any political parties in an effort to influence his or her decision.
In the event of a clash between the Irish and English versions of the constitution, the Irish one is given supremacy. Lawyers have suggested that a clash may exist in this case between both versions of the constitution. While "absolute discretion" appears to leave some freedom for manouvre for a president in deciding whether to initiate contact with the opposition, "under his own counsel" has been interpreted by some lawyers as suggesting that
no contact whatsoever can take place. This apparent discrepancy in wording has discouraged presidents from contemplating the use of the power and led to an ultra-strict application of a policy of non-contact with the opposition, most notably in January 1982 when
President Hillery instructed an aide, Captain Anthony Barber, to ensure that no telephone calls from the opposition were to be passed on to him. (Nevertheless three opposition figures, including
Fianna Fáil leader
Charles Haughey, demanded to be put through to Hillery, with Haughey threatening to end Barber's career if the calls weren't put though. Hillery, as Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces, recorded the threat in Barber's file and recorded that Barber had been acting on his instructions in refusing the call
[Fergus Finlay, Snakes & Ladders (New Island Books, 1998). p.91. Finlay was informed from sources that Haughey's threat was "when I am in [power], I intend to roast your fucking arse if you don't put me though immediately."]).
Reference of bills to the people
If requested to do so by a petition signed by a majority of the membership of the Senate, and one-third of the membership of the Dáil, the President may, after consultation with the Council of State, decline to sign a bill (other than a bill to amend the constitution) she considers to be of great "national importance" into law until it has been approved by either:
*The people in an
ordinary referendum.
*The Dáil reassembling after a general election, held within eight months.This power has never been used due to the fact that the government almost always commands a majority of the senate preventing the third of Dáil Éireann that usually makes up the opposition from combining with it.
Other
*
Reference of bills to the Supreme Court: The President may, upon consultation with the Council of State, refer a bill to the
Supreme Court to test its constitutionality. The Supreme Court then tests its constitutionality
in toto and the President may not sign the bill into law if it is found to be unconstitutional. This is the most widely used reserve power and was indeed used by six of the eight presidents (most frequently by presidents
Patrick Hillery and
Mary Robinson), but this power may not be applied to: a
money bill, a bill to amend the Constitution, or an urgent bill the time for the consideration of which has been abridged in the
Senate.
*
Abridgement of the time for bills in the Senate: The President may, at the request of Dáil Éireann, and after consultation with the Council of State, impose a time-limit on the period during which the
Senate may consider a bill. The effect of this power is to restrict the power of the Senate to delay a bill that the Government considers urgent.
*
Appointment of a Committee of Privileges: The President may, if requested to do so by the Senate, and upon consultation with the Council of State, establish a Committee of Privileges to solve a dispute between the two Houses of the
Oireachtas (parliament) as to whether or not a bill is a money bill.
*
Address to the Oireachtas: The President may, upon consultation with the Council of State, and provided the text is approved
en bloc by the Government, address, or send a message to, either or both Houses of the Oireachtas. This power has been invoked on four occasions: by President de Valera once, by President Robinson twice, and by President McAleese once, on the eve of the year 2000.
*
Address to the Nation: The President may, upon consultation with the Council of State, and provided the text has been approved
en bloc by the Government, address, or send a message to, the 'nation'. This power has been used twice, by Erskine Childers in 1974, and by President McAleese in 2001.
*
Convention of meetings of the Oireachtas: The President may, upon consultation with the Council of State, convene a meeting of either or both Houses of the Oireachtas. This power would allow the President to step in if, in extraordinary circumstances, the ordinary procedures for convening the houses had broken down.
The President of Ireland has no
vice president. In the event of a premature vacancy a successor must be elected within sixty days. In the interim the duties and functions of the office are carried out by a collective vice-presidency known as the
Presidential Commission, consisting of the
Chief Justice, the
Ceann Comhairle (speaker) of Dáil Éireann, and the
Cathaoirleach (chairperson) of the Senate. Since 1937 the Presidential Commission has taken the place of the President on a number of occasions.
Technically each president's term of office expires at midnight on the day before the new president's inauguration. Therefore, between midnight and the inauguration the following day the presidential duties and functions are carried out by the Presidential Commission.
The constitution also empowers the Council of State, acting by a majority of its members, to "make such provision as to them may seem meet" for the exercise of the duties of the president in any contingency the constitution does not foresee. The Council of State can therefore be considered the third in the line of succession. However, to date, it has never been necessary for the council to take up this role.
# | Name | Took Office | Left Office | Party
|
|---|
| Presidential Commission | December 29, 1937 | June 25, 1938 | {interim}
|
| 1. | Douglas Hyde | June 25, 1938 | June 24, 1945 | {all-party nomination}
|
| 2. | Seán T. O'Kelly | June 25, 1945 | June 24, 1959 | Fianna Fáil
|
| 3. | Eamon de Valera | June 25, 1959 | June 24, 1973 | Fianna Fáil
|
| 4. | Erskine Hamilton Childers | June 25, 1973 | November 17, 1974 | Fianna Fáil
|
| Presidential Commission | November 17, 1974 | December 18, 1974 | {interim}
|
| 5. | Cearbhall " Dálaigh | December 19, 1974 | October 22, 1976 | Fianna Fáil
|
| Presidential Commission | October 22, 1976 | December 2, 1976 | {interim}
|
| 6. | Patrick Hillery | December 3, 1976 | December 2, 1990 | Fianna Fáil
|
| 7. | Mary Robinson | December 3, 1990 | September 12, 1997 | Labour
|
| Presidential Commission | September 12, 1997 | November 10, 1997 | {interim}
|
| 8. | Mary McAleese | November 10, 1997 | present | Fianna Fáil
|
Living former Presidents
After a President leaves office he or she can go on to a successful post-presidential career. An example of this is Mary Robinson who became
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Currently, there are two living former Presidents, something which has never happened before. They are:
*
Dr. Patrick Hillery, sixth President of Ireland.
*
Mary Robinson, seventh President of Ireland.
*The official residence of the President of Ireland is
Áras an Uachtaráin, located in the
Phoenix Park in Dublin. The ninety-two room building formerly served as the 'out of season' residence of the Irish
Lord Lieutenant and the residence of two of the three Irish
Governors-General:
Tim Healy and
James McNeill.
*The President is formally
styled as 'President' or 'Uachtarán', rather than 'Mr/Madam President' or
Uachtarán. Sometimes people use the version 'Your Excellency' or, its Gaelic equivalent:
A Shoilse (female:
A Soilse). The President's style in English is normally
Her Excellency.
*The Irish presidential salute is taken from the Irish National Anthem,
Amhrán na bhFiann, and consists of the first two and last two lines of the anthem's tune.
|
Inauguration of Erskine Childers as President of Ireland.
June 1973. Members of the Council of State, and the President's wife, Rita Childers are shown beside him on the dias. Just retired president Éamon de Valera, in his last public engagement of a fifty-six year political career, sits on the extreme left (foreground) of the picture. |
Under the constitution, in assuming office the President must subscribe to a formal declaration, made publicly and in the presence of members of both Houses of the Oireachtas, Judges of the Supreme Court and of the High Court, and other "public personages". The
inauguration of the President takes place in St Patrick's Hall in
Dublin Castle. To date every President has subscribed to the declaration in Irish. In
1993 the
United Nations Human Rights Committee expressed concern that, because of its religious language, the declaration amounts to a religious test for office. The declaration is specified in Article 12.8:
*
In Irish: I láthair Dia na nUilechumhacht, táimse á ghealladh agus á dhearbhú go sollúnta is go fírinneach bheith i mo thaca agus i mo dhidín do Bhunreacht Éireann, agus dlíthe a chaomhnú, mo dhualgais a chomhlíonadh go dilís coinsiasach de réir an Bhunreacht is an dlí, agus mo lándícheall a dhéanamh ar son leasa is fónaimh mhuintir na hÉireann. Dia do mo stiúradh agus do mo chumhdach.
*
In English: In the presence of Almighty God I do solemnly and sincerely promise and declare that I will maintain the Constitution of Ireland and uphold its laws, that I will fulfil my duties faithfully and conscientiously in accordance with the Constitution and the law, and that I will dedicate my abilities to the service and the welfare of the people of Ireland. May God direct and sustain me.
|
The Inauguration of Sean T. O'Kelly as President of Ireland in 1945.
The 2nd Cavalry Squadron of the Blue Hussars escort the President, who travelled in the late Queen Alexandra's landau. The Landau and the Hussars were later scrapped. |
The constitution provides for just two ways in which the President may be removed from office prior to the expiration of his or her term. The President can be removed from office if the Supreme Court, in a sitting of at least five judges, finds that he or she has become "permanently incapacitated". Alternatively the President may be removed from office by the houses of the Oireachtas, but only for "stated misbehaviour". Either house of the Oireachtas may
impeach the President but only by a resolution approved by a majority of at least two-thirds, and a house may not consider a proposal for impeachment unless requested to do so by at least thirty of its members. Where one house impeaches the President, the remaining house investigates the charge or commissions another body or committee to do so. The investigating house can remove the President if it decides, by at least a two-thirds majority, that the President is guilty of the charge of which he or she is accused, and that the charge is sufficiently serious as to warrant his or her removal. To date neither procedure for the removal of the President has yet been invoked.
As head of state of the Republic of Ireland, the President receives the highest level of protection in the land. The Aras is protected by armed guards at all times and is encircled by security fencing. At all times the President travels with an armed security detail which is provided by the Special branch (an elite wing of the Irish police force). The Presidential Limousine is a Mercedes-Benz S-Class LWB, it is believed that the Irish president was one of the first heads of state world-wide to receive the brand new model S-Class in January 2006. The Presidential Limousine is always navy blue and carries the Presidential standard on the left front wing and the tricolor on the right front wing. When traveling the Presidential Limousine is always accompanied by support cars (normally Toyota Camrys driven by members of the Special Branch) which form a protective convoy around the car. The President also has the full use of all Irish Air Corps aircraft at his/her disposal if so needed.
|
President Robinson, the seventh President of Ireland and first woman president. This image shows her on the former Viceregal throne signing her declaration of office. |
The office of President of Ireland was established in 1937, in part as a replacement for the office of
Governor-General that existed during the
1922-1937
Irish Free State. The seven year term of office of the President was inspired by those of the presidents of
Germany and
Austria. However the head of state of neither of those two nations serves a seven year term today. At the time the office was established critics warned that the post might lead to the emergence of a dictatorship. However these fears were not borne out as successive Presidents played a limited, largely apolitical role in national affairs.
Many argue that Mary Robinson, the seventh President of Ireland, liberalised what had previously been a conservative office during her term from 1990-1997. Robinson sought to develop a new sense of the states's economic, political and cultural links with other countries and cultures, especially those of the
Irish diaspora. She placed emphasis during her presidency on the needs of developing countries, linking the history of the
Great Irish Famine to today's nutrition, poverty and policy issues, attempting to create a bridge of partnership between developed and developing countries.
Robinson was the first head of state to visit
Rwanda in the aftermath of the
1994 genocide there. She was also the first head of state to visit
Somalia following the crisis there in
1992, receiving the CARE Humanitarian Award in recognition of her efforts for that country.
Prerogative in Northern Ireland
The original text of the Constitution of Ireland, as adopted in 1937, in its controversial
Articles 2 and 3, mentioned two geopolitical entities, a thirty-two county 'national territory' (i.e., the island of
Ireland) and a twenty-six county 'state' formerly known as the
Irish Free State (Articles 2 and 3 have since been amended). The implication behind the title 'President of Ireland' was that the President would function as the head of all Ireland. However this implication was challenged by the
Ulster Unionists and the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland which was the state internationally acknowledged as having jurisdiction over
Northern Ireland.
Ireland in turn challenged the proclamation by the British parliament of
Queen Elizabeth II in 1952 as 'queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland'. The government of the
Republic of Ireland refused to attend royal functions as a result; for example, President Hillery (1976–90) declined on Government advice to attend the wedding of the
Prince of Wales to the late
Lady Diana Spencer in 1981, to which he had been invited by Queen Elizabeth, while President Sean T. " Ceallaigh declined on government advice to attend the Coronation Garden Party at the British Embassy in 1953. Britain in turn insisted on referring to the President as 'President of the Republic of Ireland' or 'President of the Irish Republic.' Letters of Credence from Queen Elizabeth, on the
British government's advice, appointing United Kingdom ambassadors to Ireland were not addressed to the 'President of Ireland' but to the president personally (for example: 'President Hillery').
This dispute has largely been forgotten in recent years. President Robinson (1990–97) chose unilaterally to break the taboo by regularly visiting
England for public functions, frequently to do with
Anglo-Irish Relations or to visit the Irish emigrant community in Britain. In another breaking of precedent, she was invited to
Buckingham Palace by Queen Elizabeth II. Interestingly, the Palace accreditation supplied to journalists covering the history-making visit referred to the "visit of the President of Ireland". In recent times, both Presidents Robinson and her successor Mary McAleese (1997— ) have visited the Palace on numerous occasions, while the Prince of Wales, Duke of York, Earl of Wessex and Duke of Edinburgh have all visited successive presidents of Ireland in
Áras an Uachtaráin (the presidential palace). Presidents have also have attended functions with the Princess Royal. Her Majesty the Queen and Her Excellency the President even jointly hosted a reception in St. James's Palace in London in 1995, to commemorate the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the foundation of the Queen's Colleges in 1845 (the Queen's Colleges are now known as
Queen's University of Belfast,
University College Cork - National University of Ireland, Cork and
National University of Ireland, Galway (formerly University College, Galway).).
Though the president's title implicitly claimed authority in Northern Ireland, in reality the Irish President needed government permission to visit Northern Ireland. (The Irish state in Article 3 explicitly stated that "pending the re-integration of the national territory" its authority was limited to the twenty-six counties and did not apply to the six counties of Northern Ireland. Presidents up to the presidency of Mary Robinson (1990–97) were regularly refused permission by the Government of the Republic of Ireland to visit Northern Ireland.)
However, since the 1990s and in particular since the
Good Friday Agreement, the president has regularly visited Northern Ireland. The current president, Mary McAleese, who is herself the first President of Ireland from Northern Ireland, continues on from Mary Robinson in this regard. In a sign of the warmth of the modern Anglo-Irish
Relationship, she has been warmly welcomed by most leading
unionists. At the funeral for a child murdered by the
Real IRA in
Omagh she symbolically walked up the main aisle of the
church hand-in-hand with the
Ulster Unionist Party leader and
First Minister of Northern Ireland,
David Trimble, MP. Similarly when Queen Elizabeth II visited the
Stormont Parliament Buildings on a trip to Northern Ireland as part of her
Golden Jubilee Tour in 2002, and spoke of the sense of Irish identity of northern nationalists,
Sinn Féin chose not to launch any public pickets or protests, stating that the Queen, as a symbol cherished by unionists, was entitled to visit.
Despite the changes to Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution as part of the Good Friday Agreement the title of the office remains the "President of Ireland", though there is now little dispute that the Presidency only has jurisdiction over the
Republic of Ireland. However she is regarded by most northern nationalists as their President, and plans have been mooted to extend voting rights in Presidential elections to the whole island.
Who was head of state from 1937-1949?
Main article: Irish head of state from 1936-1949
During the period of 1937 to
1949 it was unclear whether the Irish head of state was actually the President of Ireland or
George VI, the
King of Ireland. This period of confusion ended in 1949 when the state was declared to be a
republic.
The 1937 constitution did not mention the king but nor did it state that the President was head of state. The President exercised some powers that could be exercised by heads of state but which could also be exercised by governors or governors-general, such as appointing the Government and promulgating the law. However in 1936 George VI was declared "King of Ireland" and, under the
External Relations Act of the same year, it was this king who represented the state in its foreign affairs. Treaties, therefore, were signed in the name of the 'King of Ireland', who also accredited ambassadors and received the letters of credence of foreign diplomats. Representing a state abroad is seen by many scholars as
the key characteristic of a head of state. This role meant, in any case, that George VI was the Irish head of state in the eyes of foreign nations. The
Republic of Ireland Act, which came into force in April 1949, proclaimed a republic and transferred the role of representing the state abroad from George VI to the President. No change was made to the constitution.
Suggestions for reform
There have been many suggestions for reforming the office of President over the years. In
1996, the Constitutional Review Group recommended that the office of President should remain largely unchanged. However it suggested that the constitution should be amended to explicitly declare the President to be head of state (at present the term does not appear in the text) and that consideration be given to the introduction of a
constructive vote of no confidence system in the Dáil, along the lines of that in
Germany. If this system were introduced then the power of the President to refuse a Dáil dissolution would be largely redundant and could be taken away.
Due to the lack of a presidential election in
2004, many politicians said it should be made easier to gain nomination for the presidency. The
Tánaiste,
Mary Harney, suggested that five to ten TDs or Senators should be able to nominate a candidate, instead of the current twenty required.
*Two women have been Presidents:
**
Mary Robinson, seventh President of Ireland
**
Mary McAleese, eighth President of Ireland
*One President died while in office:
**
Erskine Hamilton Childers, died of a heart attack in
1974*Two Presidents resigned from office:
**
Cearbhall " Dálaigh, resigned in
1976, two years into his term of office.
**
Mary Robinson, resigned in
1997, weeks before the end of her term of office, to take up a position at the
United Nations.
*Three Presidents were elected without a contest:
**Dr.
Douglas Hyde, received an all-party nomination in
1938**
Cearbhall " Dálaigh, received an all-party nomination in
1974 following the death of President Childers
**Dr.
Patrick Hillery, received a Fianna Fáil nomination in
1976 following the resignation of President " Dálaigh. The Fine Gael-Labour coalition chose not to nominate a candidate of its own, resulting in Hillery's election without a contest.
*Three Presidents were re-elected without a contest:
**
Seán T. O'Kelly, re-elected unopposed in
1952.
**Dr.
Patrick Hillery, re-elected unopposed in
1983.
**
Mary McAleese, re-elected unopposed in
2004.
*Two Presidents were
Anglicans:
**Dr.
Douglas Hyde, first President of Ireland
**
Erskine Hamilton Childers, fourth President of Ireland
*Three Presidents served two full terms of office:
**
Seán T. O'Kelly, (1945–1959)
**
Eamon de Valera, (1959–1973)
**Dr.
Patrick Hillery, (1976–1990)
*Among those who wanted to become president but were not nominated were:
**
Alfie Byrne — Lord Mayor of Dublin (1938)
**
Eoin (the Pope) O'Mahony — satirist (1966)
**
Rita Childers — widow of President Erskine Childers (1974)
**
Sean MacBride — Nobel & Lenin Peace Prize winner (1983)
**
Carmencita Hederman — Lord Mayor of Dublin (1990)
**
Michael D. Higgins — Poet and Labour T.D.
**
Dana Rosemary Scallon — Former singer and religious activist (2004) - she was nominated in 1997, but was unsuccessful; she failed to be nominated in 2004
**
Eamon Ryan — Green Party T.D. (2004)
**
Vincent Salafia — Heritage campaigner
*Favourite candidates unexpectedly defeated in elections:
**
Tom O'Higgins —
Fine Gael (
1973)
**
Brian Lenihan —
Fianna Fáil (
1990)
*Miscellaneous:
**
Eamon de Valera was the oldest person to hold the Presidency. He was 76 years old when he was elected President and 91 years old when he left office. When his second term ended in
1973, he was the oldest head of state of any country in the world.
**
Erskine Childers and
Tom O'Higgins were opponents in the
1973 presidential election. In
1922,
Robert Erskine Childers, the former's father, was executed by the order of
Kevin O'Higgins, the latter's uncle.
*
Gaisce - The President's Award*
Irish topics*
Irish Government*
Politics of the Republic of Ireland*
Presidential Seal*
Presidential Standard*
Warrant of AppointmentHistorical Irish heads of state*
High King of Ireland*
Lord of Ireland*
King of Ireland**
Lord Deputy of Ireland**
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland**
Governor-General of the Irish Free State*
President of the Irish Republic*
Official site — Áras an Uachtaráin*
National Archives of Ireland - Presidential Official Seal
