The resignation of a president

When the Government announced the closure of Columb Barracks in Mullingar, it led to the resignation of Willie Penrose, Minister for State and Labour TD for Longford-Westmeath.
That was not the first time those same barracks featured in resignations and political upheaval. 1976 was a fraught time in Ireland and the then government passed the Emergency Powers Act. President Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh referred the Bill to the Supreme Court, which displeased the Government of the day. The Minister for Defence, Paddy Donegan, made an official visit to Columb Barracks to open new kitchen facilities.
Unfortunately for him, in the course of an after-dinner speech, he gave vent to his opinion of the President. It has been suggested he described the referral of the Bill to the Supreme Court as a “thundering disgrace”.
In fairness to him, he apologised and offered his resignation. Such was the Government feeling towards the President at the time, the Taoiseach refused the minister’s resignation. The President then felt he had no other option but to resign himself.
Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh, an eminent constitutional lawyer, was born in Bray, County Wicklow in 1911 and following secondary education in Synge Street he studied at UCD and Kings Inns. He was called to the Bar in 1934 and became senior counsel in 1945. He was Irish editor of the Irish Press from its foundation in 1931 until 1942. In 1946, he became the youngest attorney general in the history of the State, serving until the fall of that Government. He was re-appointed when Fianna Fáil returned to power in 1951 and then in 1953 the government made him a judge at the Supreme Court. He spent almost 20 years on the Supreme Court bench – 11 of them as chief justice. Ireland’s entry into what was then known as the EEC saw him appointed to the European Court of Justice, of which he became president.
At home, things were changing. Fine Gael and Labour gained power early in 1973. They were disappointed in the Presidential election later that year. In 1959, de Valera defeated Mac Eoin by over 120,000 votes (53% to 46%) but in 1966 it was a very close battle. De Valera defeated O’Higgins but by only 10,000 votes (50.5% to 49.5%). In 1973, Fianna Fáil were not anxious for a contest and suggested Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh as an agreed candidate.
Fine Gael were confident and rejected the idea. Fianna Fáil had been put out of government and O’Higgins, who came within 1% of de Valera, was again candidate. Things were not to be and Erskine Childers widened the margin to almost 4% (50,000 votes).
Childers worked hard at making the Presidency a highly visible one and relevant to the public. However, he was barely one year in office when he died suddenly of a heart attack.
The government had no stomach for another election so soon after the defeat of O’Higgins. Accordingly, when Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh was again suggested as an agreed candidate, they gave their approval, a decision they probably ultimately regretted.
Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh, the man who resigned, had been nominated for the office of President on November 29, 1974 – 37 years ago this week.
n Michael Torpey