Irish Constitution Links
“All progress is initiated by challenging current conceptions,
and executed by supplanting existing institutions.”
George Bernard Shaw
Bunreacht na hÉireann
The Irish name of the Irish Constitution literally means the Basic Law of Ireland. No law can be passed that does not agree with the Constitution. The Constitution can be changed only by a referendum in which every citizen of Ireland, over the age of 18, is entitled to vote. The Constitution was passed in a referendum on the 1st July 1937. It came into operation on the 29th December 1937. The current Constitution replaced the Constitution of the Irish Free State (Saorstát Éireann), which came into existence in 1922. This site is the official Irish Government Website, which contains the online and most up-to-date version of the Irish Constitution, with amending acts through 2004. This site contains the Constitution in PDF, HTML and RTF formats. This link is to the Department of the Taoiseach, the Irish Prime Minister.
Irish Constitution
Irish Constitution through the Irish Government Website “Oasis” with explanations of the parts of the Constitution and how it works. This site contains a PDF of the Constitution, with descriptions of the amending acts.
Irish Constitution of the Irish Free State
Irish Constitution, 1922 version, at University College Cork, CELT project (Corpus of Electronic Texts).
Divorce Referendum
Copy and information on the Divorce Referendum in 1995.
Northern Ireland Peace Agreement of 1998
As found on the Irish Government Website, Department of the Taoiseach.
Northern Ireland Agreement Referendum (1998)
Archived page on the Irish Law Website for historical reference purposes.
Referendum Commission
Information on the Irish Referendum Commission, which oversees amendments to the Constitution and referenda. The Referendum Commission is an independent body created by law. The Commission has a Chairman who is required to be a former judge of the Supreme Court or the High Court or a judge of the High Court. The Commission’s other members are required to be the Clerk of the Dáil, the Clerk of the Seanad, the Ombudsman and the Comptroller and Auditor General. The Referendum Commission is independent in its actions and is supported by a secretariat from the Office of the Ombudsman.
Past Referenda
Information on past Irish referenda. |
