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President of Ireland

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
President of Ireland
Incumbent
Catherine Connolly

since 11 November 2025
StylePresident (Uachtarán) or
Your Excellency (A Shoilse)
ResidenceÁras an Uachtaráin
Term lengthSeven years, renewable once
Inaugural holderDouglas Hyde
Formation25 June 1938
Salary€250,000 per annum [1]
Websitewww.president.ie

The President of Ireland (Irish: Uachtarán na hÉireann OOk-te-rawn na HAir-un ) is the head of state of Ireland. It is mostly ceremonial and elections are held every seven years, a person can be elected for up to two terms. The current President of Ireland is Catherine Connolly.

  • Appoints the government: The President formally appoints the Taoiseach (head of government) and other ministers, and accepts their resignations.
  • Signs bills into law: The President cannot veto a bill that the Dáil and the Seanad have adopted.
  • Power of pardon: The President, on the advice of the Government, has "the right of pardon and the power to commute or remit punishment".[2]
  • The President is ex officio President of the Irish Red Cross Society.[3]
  • The President appoints, on the advice of the Government, the Senior Professors and chairman of the council of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies;[4]

List of presidents of Ireland

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The functions of the President were exercised by the Presidential Commission from the coming into force of the Constitution on 29 December 1937 until the election of Douglas Hyde in 1938, and during the vacancies of 1974, 1976, and 1997.

No. Portrait Name
(birth–death)
Previous service Term of office Nominated by Election
Took office Left office Time in office
1
Douglas Hyde, circa 1940.jpg
Douglas Hyde
(1860–1949)
Senator
(1922–1925, 1938)
25 June 1938 24 June 1945 7 years Fianna Fáil 1938
Fine Gael
2
Sean T O'Kelly, 1949.jpg
Seán T. O'Kelly
(1882–1966)
Tánaiste
(1932–1945)
25 June 1945 24 June 1959 14 years Fianna Fáil 1945
Himself 1952
3
Éamon de Valera, President of Ireland, in 1960s (43915959314).jpg
Éamon de Valera
(1882–1975)
Taoiseach
(1932–1948, 1951–1954, 1957–1959)
25 June 1959 24 June 1973 14 years Fianna Fáil 1959
Himself 1966
4 Erskine Hamilton Childers
(1905–1974)
Tánaiste
(1969–1973)
25 June 1973 17 November 1974 1 year, 145 days Fianna Fáil 1973
5
Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh, 1975 (cropped).jpg
Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh[a]
(1911–1978)
Chief Justice of Ireland
(1961–1973)
19 December 1974 22 October 1976 1 year, 308 days All-party nomination 1974
6
Patrick Hillery (cropped).jpg
Patrick Hillery
(1923–2008)
European Commissioner for Social Affairs
(1973–1976)
3 December 1976 2 December 1990 14 years Fianna Fáil 1976
Himself 1983
7
Mary Robinson, May 1995 01 (cropped).jpg
Mary Robinson
(born 1944)
Senator
(1969–1989)
3 December 1990 12 September 1997 6 years, 283 days Labour 1990
Workers' Party
8
Mary McAleese, President of Ireland (cropped).jpg
Mary McAleese
(born 1951)
Reid Professor of Criminal law, Criminology and Penology
at Trinity College Dublin
11 November 1997 10 November 2011 14 years Fianna Fáil 1997
Progressive Democrats
Herself 2004
9
2022 Michael D. Higgins (51988246304) (cropped).jpg
Michael D. Higgins
(born 1941)
Minister for Arts, Culture and Gaeltacht
(1993–1997)
11 November 2011 10 November 2025 14 years Labour 2011
Himself 2018
10
State Visit of the President of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam (2) (54040650320) (cropped).jpg
Catherine Connolly
(born 1957)
Leas-Cheann Comhairle
(2020–2024)
11 November 2025 Incumbent 55 days Sinn Fein 2025
Social Democrats
Labour
PBP–Solidarity
Green Party
100% Redress
Independents
  1. His name is sometimes given in the alternative spelling of Carroll O'Daly.[5]

References

[change | change source]
  1. "Higher or lower: how does Michael D's new salary compare to other heads of state?". TheJournal.ie. 10 November 2011.
  2. Constitution of Ireland: Article 13.6
  3. Red Cross Act, 1944 Irish Statute Book
  4. "Institute For Advanced Studies Act, 1940". Archived from the original on 2012-01-19. Retrieved 2018-06-01.
  5. Lentz, Harris M. (2014). Heads of States and Governments Since 1945. Hoboken, NJ: Taylor and Francis. p. 421. ISBN 978-1-134-26490-2.

Other websites

[change | change source]