merrion street

The Minister for Justice and Equality, Charlie Flanagan TD, has today (Saturday, July 1^st) unveiled a bust of the lawyer and diplomat, John Hearne, in his native city of Waterford. At a ceremony also attended by the Irish Ambassador to the United Kingdom (and Waterford native) Mr Dan Mulhall, he also marked the 80^th anniversary of Bunreacht na hÉireann, the cornerstone of our democracy. 
  
Speaking at the ceremony, Minister Flanagan said: 

“Waterford has made many important contributions to the public life of our country. It was in this city, that what is now our national flag was first unfurled in 1848 by a famous son of Waterford, Thomas Francis Meagher; and Waterford was also the political home of Irish Party leader, John Redmond. John Hearne was a member of a generation that lived through a period of dramatic political change in Ireland. As a patriotic Irishman, Hearne threw his lot in with the Irish Free State, joining the Irish civil service and becoming Legal Adviser to what was then the Department of External Affairs. 
  
“It was in that capacity that John Hearne made his outstanding contribution to the Ireland of his time and ours. Although a supporter of the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 and the Irish Free State that sprang from it, after 1932 he worked hand and glove with Eamon de Valera. Hearne’s role was to put de Valera’s ideas into the elegant legal language of our Constitution, Bunreacht na hÉireann, which has stood the test of time.   
  
“Hearne deserves to be called the 'architect in chief and draftsman' of our Constitution. By the way, that is not my description of Hearne's role in framing the Constitution: it's Eamon de Valera's. Bunreacht na hÉireann, produced just 15 years after our attainment of self-government, has served us exceptionally well this past 80 years, underpinning our democracy and providing inspiration for constitution-makers in other parts of the world. It was a singular achievement for our political system that a constitution was promulgated and approved by the people which firmly enshrined democratic principles and popular sovereignty. 
  
“As our first full Ambassador in Washington from 1950 until 1960, John Hearne also initiated an important tradition which has served Ireland well this past six decades. For it was Hearne who began the St. Patrick’s Day practice of presenting a bowl of shamrock to the American President. I am glad to see our Ambassador in London, Dan Mulhall, back in his home city for today's ceremony, for he will be following in John Hearne's footsteps next month when he transfers to Washington. 

“Against the background of my experience at the Department of Foreign Affairs, I am particularly pleased to be here to honour a key figure in the emergence of our Constitution and in the evolution of our diplomatic service, John Joseph Hearne, lawyer, Ambassador and proud Waterford man.”