The constitution of Ireland (Irish language: Bunreacht na hÉireann, pronounced bun-rockt na hair-inn) is the constitution of Éire, also known since 1949 as the Republic of Ireland.
It was the work of Eamon de Valera, President of the Executive Council (prime minister) of the Irish Free State. The constitution was actually drafted in two languages, Irish and English; in Irish by Micheál Ó Gríobhtha, who worked in the Irish Department of Education, and in English by John Hearne, legal advisor to the Department of External Affairs (now called the Department of Foreign Affairs). De Valera served as his own External Affairs Minister, hence the use of the Department's Legal Advisor, with whom he had previously worked closely, as opposed to the Attorney-General or someone from the Department of the President of the Executive Council.
Though many presumed that the constitution was drafted in English and merely translated into Irish, in reality it was in effect written in both languages almost simultaneously, with each co-author borrowing from the other's work. The result unfortunately is that at a number of points the texts clash. In the event of such a clash, the Irish language, though ironically the less well worded legally, given that its author was not a lawyer, takes precedence.
The 1937 constitution was meant to assert the completion of the process of "constitutional autochthony" (the assertion of legal nationalism) that had seen de Valera amend the previous 1922 Constitution to remove references to the Anglo-Irish Treaty, the Oath of Allegiance, Appeals to the Privy Council, the British Crown, and Governor-General of the Irish Free State in the previous five years.
Bunreacht na hÉireann was passed by Dáil Éireann and then approved narrowly in a plebiscite of voters on July 1, 1937. It came into operation on December 29, 1937. Among the groups who voted against it were the opposition Fine Gael and Labour supporters, unionists, Commonwealth supporters and women. Its main support came from Fianna Fáil supporters and republicans.
The Constitution consists of a Preamble and 50 Articles arranged under 16 headings. These are:-
The Transitory Provisions (Articles 51-63) which dealt with the transitional amendment of the Constitution, the transition and reconstitution of the Parliament and Government, the continuance of the Civil Service, the entry upon office of the first President,the temporary continuance of the Courts, the continuance of Attorney General, Comptroller and Auditor General, Defence and Police Forces; coming into force of the Constitution and the text of the Constitution, ceased to have any legal effect on the third anniversary of the inauguration of the first President (Douglas Hyde, 1938) and have been ommitted from all official texts since 1941.
Some myths, however, have surrounded the text.
The constitution has undergone a significant number of amendments since its passage in 1937, all enacted by referendum.
The rights in the Articles of the constitution can be superseded by the declaration of a 'National Emergency'. Two such emegencies have existed - an emergency declared in 1940 to cover the threat to national security posed by World War Two and an emergency declared in 1976 to deal with the threat to the security of the state posed by the Provisional IRA
Furthermore, under judicial review, the concepts and meanings of articles have been explored and expanded by the Irish Supreme Court, most notably under the period of Chief Justice Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh, who later became President of Ireland. Among the rights ruled to exist implicitly in the constitution's Articles were:
Though controversial, de Valera's work is widely regarded as one of the world's best constitutions. Whatever about the nature of its contexts, its clear legal language, order, and structure make it a model of how constitutions should be structured. It has often been compared to the 1958 Constitution of the French Fifth Republic, which is generally seen by political scientists as inferior in terms of clarity and structure. De Valera's constitution has been studied worldwide, by everywhere from Nehru's India to Mandela's South Africa. Its office of President of Ireland was one of six studied closely by Australia's Republic Advisory Committee as Australia considered becoming a republic.
Copies of Bunreacht na hÉireann are available from the Irish Government Publications Office in Dublin. Details on the debate about its passage can be found on the Oireachtas Website
See also Wikipedia entries on President of Ireland, Taoiseach, Dáil Éireann, Seanad Éireann, Áras an Uachtaráin, Eamon de Valera, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Labour Party, the Irish Free State the Irish Republic, Éire and the Republic of Ireland.
The death penalty had already been abolished in statute law decades earlier. The constitutional amendment merely removed (i) mention of its use, and (ii) the President's role in granting a term of life imprisonment in place of the death sentence.
Copies of Bunreacht na hÉireann are available from the Irish Government Stationary Office, Molesworth St, Dublin 2 or at
The Drafting of Bunreacht na hÉireann
Structure of the Bunreacht
Transitory Provisions
The Bunreacht's Main Innovations
'Myths' about the Bunreacht
Catholicism
Northern Ireland
A republic
Women
Constitutional amendments since 1937
Transitory Provisions amendments
Rejected proposed amendments
National Emergency
Judicial review
The Constitution is currently being reviewed by the All-Party Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution. Until recently the committee was chaired by Brian Lenihan, TD of Fianna Fáil. See Also
Footnote
Recommended Reading
Copies of Bunreacht na hÉireann