Luke Drury, President of the Royal Irish Academy;
Author, Gerard Hogan;
Ladies and gentlemen.
This year marks the 75th anniversary of our Constitution. The publication of The Origins of the Irish Constitution 1928-1941 fittingly celebrates that occasion.
It’s a book that will enable us to reflect more deeply on the centrality of our Constitution to Irish life in a year when we also embark on a process to equip it for the challenges of the 21st Century.
Dr. Gerard Hogan’s academic and professional background and his consummate knowledge of constitutional law have qualified him supremely for this undertaking.
It would be impossible for Gerard to bring a book of this calibre without the support of a wide base of experts and organisations. It has been five years in the making and drew upon the Office of the Attorney General and the National Archives. It was also facilitated by UCD and some of our leading newspapers.
The Royal Irish Academy’s decision in recent years to commission books from Ireland’s academics demonstrates the Academy’s keen understanding of our need and willingness to learn about our heritage.
One niche it has identified is that of returning to the source and reading the primary evidence. In this regard the Academy has been true to its tradition of academic rigor.
This book attests to that tradition. Its primary sources include key documents collected from a variety of archival sources from 1928 through to 1941. Their inclusion will enable the reader to independently judge historical facts for themselves. They are aided, of course, by extensive commentary in each chapter which clarifies the backdrop and places the documents within a context.
Our Constitution is the most important document written since Ireland won its independence. It is central to our identity as a nation. It is central to how we govern and how we protect the rights and freedoms of our citizens.
This book is presented in a way that gives today’s reader a fascinating insight into the concepts, processes and influences that underpinned it. For example:
- On pages 159 - 171 one can see the original draft by de Valera where he lists the things one needs in a constitution.
- On page 172 you will see the original draft written by John Hearne - submitted in May of 1935.
- From page 189 - 191 you will see how notes were taken on the constitutions of Czechoslovakia, Austria, Spain, Poland, the United States and France in preparation for our own.
- On page 279, you will even see how John Hearne drew on the model of the Portuguese constitution to help safeguard the rights of our people.
From the first day of briefing in April 1935 to the day that de Valera took to the airwaves to announce the publication of the draft for consultation was just two years. This was down to the hard work and commitment of our public servants.
While Dr Hogan will rightly point to the great work done by John Hearne, we cannot overlook the sterling contributions made by Maurice Moynhian, Michael McDunphy, Stephen Roche, James McElligot, Padraig Ó Cinnéide and Philip O’Donoghue to name but a few. They were part of the first generation of civil servants whose integrity, commitment to public service, and practical patriotism helped mould this state.
There are two other persons who we wish to acknowledge today, the late Rory Brady and Paddy Buckley. Both worked in separate disciplines, but were united by a common purpose – public service. Both died too young – but both have left a legacy in their respective spheres that honour their names. This book is but one of their legacies. There are many more.
Rory was a formidable barrister, and Attorney General whose contribution to the peace process cannot be overlooked.
Paddy, a former officer of the Taoiseach’s Department is fondly remembered by all who worked with him there. His dedication to his job and his capacity to effect change, as all in the Academy can attest, transformed this institution. The Taoiseach’s Departments loss was your gain.
When de Valera published the Constitution he took to the airways to ‘express the hope that it will be studied carefully and critically in every home in the country’. Original plans for printing were about 2,000. But the publicity and coverage they got in the newspapers and on radio engaged the public to the extent that in the first 8 months of the life of the constitution, no less than 52,000 copies were sold.
However as it approaches its 75th anniversary, it is timely to look at our Constitution and ask ourselves whether it continues to serve the needs of a modern, twenty-first century nation. While the 1937 Constitution provided an important foundation for the development of the State, it was undoubtedly a product of its time.
Irish society today, in many ways, would be unrecognisable to the original drafters of the Constitution. This Government, recognising the need to have a Constitution reflective of the mores and values of the 21st Century decided to establish a Constitutional Convention that would propose amendments to our Constitution.
Our Constitution, however, belongs to the people. It has a real and direct impact on all our lives. It is only proper, therefore, that citizens themselves should play a pivotal role in the process of Constitutional reform. The Convention will be radically different from any process of Constitutional reform that has gone before.
Ordinary citizens will be in the majority, and will work alongside elected representatives to bring forward proposals for reform. Citizens, who ordinarily might not be familiar with how policy or laws are made, will have a direct and transparent input. They will be supported with expert advice from political scientists, constitutional lawyers and academics, while sectoral bodies and other interest groups will be able to make submissions to assist the Convention with its deliberations.
Over the next year, the Convention will review key institutional issues such as our Dáil electoral system and important social issues, such as making provision in the Constitution for same-sex marriage and encouraging greater participation by women in public life. The Convention will also be able to make recommendations on other areas of Constitutional reform as it sees fit. This is a significant work programme.
An important aspect of the Constitutional Convention is that the Government has publicly committed to giving a public response, through the Oireachtas, to each recommendation from the Convention within four months. In each case that response will be debated in the Oireachtas and the Government’s response will include a timeframe for the holding of any proposed referendum.
In the past, after much excellent work by various Oireachtas Committees and other review bodies, the ensuing reports were often left to gather dust on the shelf. That will not happen with the Convention’s reports.
This is much more than fostering civic participation. The Constitutional Convention will be an influential adviser to the government. We will be guided by its advice and recommendations.
This is the people’s year in terms of political and constitutional participation.
In conclusion, I would like to commend the Academy’s decision to make this book freely available online until the end of September. I commend them on this very innovative gesture.
I want to thank you Gerard and everyone else who assisted and facilitated its publication. I wish you and everyone here at the Royal Irish Academy every success with your sterling work going forward.
Thank you.