Cathaoirleach Explained

Post:Cathaoirleach
Body:
Seanad Éireann
Insignia:Seanad Eireann logo.png
Insigniasize:200px
Incumbent:Jerry Buttimer
Incumbentsince:16 December 2022
Appointer:Elected by the members of Seanad Éireann
Termlength:No term limits
Formation:6 December 1922
Salary:€114,130 annually[1]
Inaugural:Lord Glenavy

Cathaoirleach (;[2] Irish for chairperson; plural: Irish: Cathaoirligh) is the title of the chair (or presiding officer) of Seanad Éireann, the sixty-member upper house of the Oireachtas, the legislature of Ireland. The current Cathaoirleach is Fine Gael Senator Jerry Buttimer, who has held the office since 16 December 2022.

Powers and functions

The Cathaoirleach is the sole judge of order, and has a range of powers and functions, namely:[3]

The Cathaoirleach is also an Latin: [[ex officio]] member of the Council of State, which advises the president of Ireland in the exercise of their discretionary powers, and of the Presidential Commission, which performs the powers and functions of the office of president in their absence.

List of office-holders

Cathaoirleach

This list includes the panel (since 1938) and political affiliation of each Cathaoirleach, as well as the number of the Seanad and time they spent in the position.

SeanadName[4]
PortraitTerm of officePartyPanel
1922Lord Glenavy
6 December 19226 December 1928N/A
1925
1928Thomas Westropp Bennett
<-- DO NOT ADD A NON-FREE IMAGE FOR THIS PERSON – ONLY FREELY LICENCED IMAGES ARE ALLOWED FOR LISTS. SEE WP:NFLISTS -->6 December 192819 May 1936[5] N/A
1931
1934
2ndSeán Gibbons
<-- DO NOT ADD A NON-FREE IMAGE FOR THIS PERSON – ONLY FREELY LICENCED IMAGES ARE ALLOWED FOR LISTS. SEE WP:NFLISTS -->27 April 1938 8 September 1943Agricultural Panel
3rd
4thSeán Goulding
<-- DO NOT ADD A NON-FREE IMAGE FOR THIS PERSON – ONLY FREELY LICENCED IMAGES ARE ALLOWED FOR LISTS. SEE WP:NFLISTS -->8 September 1943 21 April 1948 Industrial and Commercial Panel
5thAdministrative Panel
6thTimothy O'Donovan
21 April 1948 14 August 1951Agricultural Panel
7thLiam Ó Buachalla
14 August 195122 July 1954Cultural and Educational Panel
8thPatrick Baxter
22 July 195422 May 1957Agricultural Panel
9thLiam Ó Buachalla
<-- DO NOT ADD A NON-FREE IMAGE FOR THIS PERSON – ONLY FREELY LICENCED IMAGES ARE ALLOWED FOR LISTS. SEE WP:NFLISTS -->22 May 19575 November 1969Cultural and Educational Panel
10th
11th
12thMichael Yeats
5 November 19693 January 1973Cultural and Educational Panel
Micheál Cranitch
3 January 1973 1 June 1973Nominated by the Taoiseach
13thJames Dooge
1 June 1973 27 October 1977Industrial and Commercial Panel
14thSéamus Dolan
27 October 1977 8 October 1981Labour Panel
15thCharles McDonald
8 October 1981 13 May 1982Agricultural Panel
16thTras Honan
13 May 1982 23 February 1983Administrative Panel
17thPatrick J. Reynolds
23 February 1983 25 April 1987Industrial and Commercial Panel
18thTras Honan
25 April 1987 1 November 1989Administrative Panel
19thSeán Doherty
1 November 1989 23 January 1992Administrative Panel
Seán Fallon
<-- DO NOT ADD A NON-FREE IMAGE FOR THIS PERSON – ONLY FREELY LICENCED IMAGES ARE ALLOWED FOR LISTS. SEE WP:NFLISTS -->23 January 1992 4 July 1995Industrial and Commercial Panel
20th
Liam Naughten
12 July 1995 16 November 1996Agricultural Panel
Liam T. Cosgrave
27 November 1996 17 September 1997Industrial and Commercial Panel
21stBrian Mullooly
17 September 1997 12 September 2002Labour Panel
22ndRory Kiely
12 September 2002 13 September 2007 Agricultural Panel
23rdPat Moylan
13 September 2007 25 May 2011Agricultural Panel
24thPaddy Burke
25 May 20118 June 2016Agricultural Panel
25thDenis O'Donovan
8 June 201629 June 2020Agricultural Panel
26thMark Daly
29 June 202016 December 2022Agricultural Panel
Jerry Buttimer
16 December 2022IncumbentLabour Panel

Leas-Chathaoirleach

The Cathaoirleach's deputy is the Irish: Leas-Chathaoirleach.

SeanadName
PortraitTerm of officePartyPanel
1922James G. Douglas
12 December 19229 December 1925N/A
1925Thomas Westropp Bennett
9 December 192512 December 1928N/A
1928Patrick W. Kenny
12 December 192822 April 1931N/A
Patrick Hooper
6 May 19316 September 1931N/A
1931Michael F. O'Hanlon
20 January 193212 December 1934N/A
1934Michael Comyn
12 December 193424 February 1936N/A
David Robinson
11 March 193619 May 1936N/A
2ndPádraic Ó Máille
11 May 193830 November 1938Agricultural Panel
3rdMichael Tierney
30 November 193827 October 1943National University of Ireland
4th27 October 194318 August 1944
5thTimothy O'Donovan
18 August 194421 April 1948Agricultural Panel
6thSeán Goulding
21 April 194814 August 1951Administrative Panel
7thTimothy O'Donovan
7 November 195127 July 1954Agricultural Panel
8thLiam Ó Buachalla
27 July 195429 May 1957Cultural and Educational Panel
9thPatrick Baxter
29 May 19573 April 1959Agricultural Panel
John O'Donovan
30 May 19593 January 1962Cultural and Educational Panel
10thPatrick Lindsay
3 January 196230 June 1965Industrial and Commercial Panel
11thJames Dooge
<-- DO NOT ADD A NON-FREE IMAGE FOR THIS PERSON – ONLY FREELY LICENCED IMAGES ARE ALLOWED FOR LISTS. SEE WP:NFLISTS -->30 June 196512 November 1969Labour Panel
12th12 November 196920 June 1973Industrial and Commercial Panel
13thEvelyn Owens
20 June 19732 November 1977Labour Panel
14thJoe McCartin
2 November 197712 July 1979Agricultural Panel
Charles McDonald
18 July 197913 May 1982Agricultural Panel
15thSéamus Dolan
9 October 198119 May 1982Labour Panel
16thCharles McDonald
19 May 19829 March 1983Agricultural Panel
17thTras Honan
9 March 198325 April 1987Administrative Panel
18thCharles McDonald20 May 19878 November 1989Agricultural Panel
19thLiam Naughten
<-- DO NOT ADD A NON-FREE IMAGE FOR THIS PERSON – ONLY FREELY LICENCED IMAGES ARE ALLOWED FOR LISTS. SEE WP:NFLISTS -->8 November 198925 February 1993Agricultural Panel
20th25 February 199312 July 1995
Brian Mullooly
19 July 199518 September 1997Labour Panel
21stLiam T. Cosgrave
18 September 199713 September 2002Industrial and Commercial Panel
22ndPaddy Burke
13 September 200213 September 2007Agricultural Panel
23rd13 September 200725 May 2011
24thDenis O'Donovan
25 May 20118 June 2016Industrial and Commercial Panel
25thPaul Coghlan
15 June 201627 March 2020Industrial and Commercial Panel
26thJerry Buttimer
7 July 202021 August 2020Labour Panel
Joe O'Reilly
22 August 202016 December 2022Labour Panel
Mark Daly
16 December 2022IncumbentAgricultural Panel

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: TDs and Senators salaries. Houses of the Oireachtas. 21 February 2020. 21 February 2020. 15 January 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200115163126/https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/salaries-and-allowances/salaries/. live.
  2. For the pronunciation in Irish, see here .
  3. Web site: Cathaoirleach. Houses of the Oireachtas. 20 January 2019. 21 January 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190121064656/https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/office-holders/cathaoirleach/. live.
  4. Web site: Former Cinn Comhairle and Cathaoirligh. Houses of the Oireachtas. 20 January 2019. 26 October 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181026143126/https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/office-holders/former-office-holders/#Cathaoirligh. live.
  5. The final sitting of Seanad Éireann of the Irish Free State was held on 19 May 1936. The Seanad was abolished on 29 May 1936. The election for the new Seanad, set up in accordance with the 1937 Constitution of Ireland, was held on 28 March 1938, and the first sitting was held on 27 April 1938.

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