The Irish Constitution - Essay Flashcards
Paragraph 1:
The Irish Constitution (1937) is Ireland’s…
3rd Constitution following on from the Constitution of the Irish Free State 1922 and the Dáil Eireann 1919. The Irish Constitution was written by Eamon de Valera his Fianna Fail government and passed by the Irish people in a referendum in 1937.
Paragraph 2:
The Constitution is structured into articles…
and each group of articles deals with a particular aspect of the state.
In conjunction with paragraph 2:
Articles 1-3…
tell us that Ireland is an independant and democratic state.
Articles 4-33 deals with two organisation of the state, leg the term of office of the president is 7 years and he or she can serve 2 terms (14 years).
Articles 34-39 deals with our legal system (Courts and Judges).
Articles 40-44 deals with the 6 fundamental rights of the Irish citizen; personal right, right of the family, right of children, right to education, right to private property and right to religion.
In conjunction with paragraph 2:
The remaining articles…
tells us how we can make change to the constitution.
Paragraph 3:
A change to the Constitution is called…
an Amendment. This can only happen by a vote of the Irish people in a Referendum, where the majority vote wins.
In conjunction with paragraph 3:
We have changed the 1937 Constitution many times:
In 1973 to allow Ireland in the EU, in 1996 to allow divorce and in 2015 to allow same sex marriage.
