Cathaoirleach

Cathaoirleach of
Seanad Éireann
Cathaoirleach of ; Seanad Éireann
	Incumbent; Mark Daly; since 29 June 2020
Appointer	Elected by the members of Seanad Éireann at start of a new term after a general election.
Term length	No term limits are imposed on the office.
Inaugural holder	Lord Glenavy
Formation	6 December 1922
Salary	€114,130 annually
Website	Official website

Cathaoirleach (/kəˈhɪərləx/ (listen);^[2] Irish for chairperson; plural: 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, who has held the office since 29 June 2020, is Fianna Fáil Senator Mark Daly.

Powers and functions[]

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

Calls on members to speak and all speeches must be addressed to the Chair.
Puts such questions to the House as are required, supervises Divisions and declares the results.
Has authority to suppress disorder, to enforce prompt obedience to Rulings and may order members to withdraw from the House or name them for suspension by the House itself for a period.
In the case of great disorder can suspend or adjourn the House.

The Cathaoirleach is also an 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 their Seanad Éireann and time they spent in the position.

	Name^[4] (Birth–Death)	Term of office		Party	Panel	Seanad
1	Lord Glenavy (1851–1931)	6 December 1922	6 December 1928	Independent	N/A	1922
1	Lord Glenavy (1851–1931)	6 December 1922	6 December 1928	Independent	N/A	1925
2	Thomas Westropp Bennett (1867–1962)	6 December 1928	19 May 1936^[5]	Cumann na nGaedheal	N/A	1928
						1931
						1934
3	Seán Gibbons (1883–1952)	27 April 1938^[5]	8 September 1943	Fianna Fáil	Agricultural Panel	2nd
3	Seán Gibbons (1883–1952)	27 April 1938^[5]	8 September 1943	Fianna Fáil	Agricultural Panel	3rd
4	Seán Goulding (1877–1959)	8 September 1943	21 April 1948	Fianna Fáil	Industrial and Commercial Panel (1943–1944)	4th
4	Seán Goulding (1877–1959)	8 September 1943	21 April 1948	Fianna Fáil	Administrative Panel (1944–1948)	5th
5	Timothy O'Donovan (1881–1957)	21 April 1948	14 August 1951	Fine Gael	Agricultural Panel	6th
6	Liam Ó Buachalla (1899–1970)	14 August 1951	22 July 1954	Fianna Fáil	Cultural and Educational Panel	7th
7	Patrick Baxter (1891–1959)	22 July 1954	22 May 1957	Clann na Talmhan	Agricultural Panel	8th
(6)	Liam Ó Buachalla (1899–1970)	22 May 1957	5 November 1969	Fianna Fáil	Cultural and Educational Panel	9th
						10th
						11th
8	Michael Yeats (1921–2007)	5 November 1969	3 January 1973	Fianna Fáil	Cultural and Educational Panel	12th
9	Micheál Cranitch (1912–1999)	3 January 1973	1 June 1973	Fianna Fáil	Nominated by the Taoiseach	12th
10	James Dooge (1922–2010)	1 June 1973	27 October 1977	Fine Gael	Industrial and Commercial Panel	13th
11	Séamus Dolan (1914–2010)	27 October 1977	8 October 1981	Fianna Fáil	Labour Panel	14th
12	Charles McDonald (born 1935)	8 October 1981	13 May 1982	Fine Gael	Agricultural Panel	15th
13	Tras Honan (born 1930)	13 May 1982	23 February 1983	Fianna Fáil	Administrative Panel	16th
14	Patrick J. Reynolds (1920–2003)	23 February 1983	25 April 1987	Fine Gael	Industrial and Commercial Panel	17th
(13)	Tras Honan (born 1930)	25 April 1987	1 November 1989	Fianna Fáil	Administrative Panel	18th
15	Seán Doherty (1944–2005)	1 November 1989	23 January 1992	Fianna Fáil	Administrative Panel	19th
16	Seán Fallon (1937–1995)	23 January 1992	12 July 1995	Fianna Fáil	Industrial and Commercial Panel	19th
16	Seán Fallon (1937–1995)	23 January 1992	12 July 1995	Fianna Fáil	Industrial and Commercial Panel	20th
17	Liam Naughten (1944–1996)	12 July 1995	16 November 1996	Fine Gael	Agricultural Panel
18	Brian Mullooly (born 1935)	16 November 1996	27 November 1996	Fianna Fáil	Labour Panel
19	Liam T. Cosgrave (born 1956)	27 November 1996	17 September 1997	Fine Gael	Industrial and Commercial Panel
(18)	Brian Mullooly (born 1935)	17 September 1997	12 September 2002	Fianna Fáil	Labour Panel	21st
20	Rory Kiely (1934–2018)	12 September 2002	13 September 2007	Fianna Fáil	Agricultural Panel	22nd
21	Pat Moylan (born 1946)	13 September 2007	25 May 2011	Fianna Fáil	Agricultural Panel	23rd
22	Paddy Burke (born 1955)	25 May 2011	8 June 2016	Fine Gael	Agricultural Panel	24th
23	Denis O'Donovan (born 1955)	8 June 2016	29 June 2020	Fianna Fáil	Agricultural Panel	25th
24	Mark Daly (born 1973)	29 June 2020	Incumbent	Fianna Fáil	Agricultural Panel	26th

Leas-Chathaoirleach[]

The Cathaoirleach's deputy is the Leas-Chathaoirleach.

	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office		Party	Panel	Seanad
1	James G. Douglas (1887–1954)	12 December 1922	9 December 1925	Independent	N/A	1922
2	Thomas Westropp Bennett (1867–1962)	9 December 1925	12 December 1928	Cumann na nGaedheal	N/A	1925
3	Patrick W. Kenny (died 1931)	12 December 1928	22 April 1931	Cumann na nGaedheal	N/A	1928
4	Patrick Hooper (died 1931)	6 May 1931	6 September 1931	Independent	N/A	1928
5	Michael F. O'Hanlon (1890–1967)	20 January 1932	12 December 1934	Cumann na nGaedheal	N/A	1931
6	Michael Comyn (1871–1952)	12 December 1934	27 April 1938	Fianna Fáil	N/A	1934
7	Pádraic Ó Máille (1878–1946)	11 May 1938	30 November 1938	Fianna Fáil	Agricultural Panel	2nd
8	Michael Tierney (1894–1975)	30 November 1938	27 October 1943	Fine Gael	National University of Ireland	3rd
8	Michael Tierney (1894–1975)	27 October 1943	18 August 1944	Fine Gael	National University of Ireland	4th
9	Timothy O'Donovan (1881–1957)	18 August 1944	21 April 1948	Fine Gael	Agricultural Panel	5th
10	Seán Goulding (1877–1959)	21 April 1948	14 August 1951	Fianna Fáil	Administrative Panel	6th
(9)	Timothy O'Donovan (1881–1957)	7 November 1951	27 July 1954	Fine Gael	Agricultural Panel	7th
11	Liam Ó Buachalla (1899–1970)	27 July 1954	29 May 1957	Fianna Fáil	Cultural and Educational Panel	8th
12	Patrick Baxter (1891–1959)	29 May 1957	3 April 1959	Clann na Talmhan	Agricultural Panel	9th
13	John O'Donovan (1908–1982)	30 May 1959	3 January 1962	Fine Gael	Cultural and Educational Panel	9th
14	Patrick Lindsay (1914–1993)	3 January 1962	30 June 1965	Fine Gael	Industrial and Commercial Panel	10th
15	James Dooge (1922–2010)	30 June 1965	12 November 1969	Fine Gael	Labour Panel	11th
15	James Dooge (1922–2010)	12 November 1969	20 June 1973	Fine Gael	Industrial and Commercial Panel	12th
16	Evelyn Owens (1931–2010)	20 June 1973	2 November 1977	Labour Party	Labour Panel	13th
17	Joe McCartin (born 1939)	2 November 1977	9 October 1981	Fine Gael	Agricultural Panel	14th
18	Séamus Dolan (1914–2010)	9 October 1981	19 May 1982	Fianna Fáil	Labour Panel	15th
19	Charles McDonald (born 1935)	19 May 1982	9 March 1983	Fine Gael	Agricultural Panel	16th
20	Tras Honan (born 1930)	9 March 1983	25 April 1987	Fianna Fáil	Administrative Panel	17th
(19)	Charles McDonald	20 May 1987	8 November 1989	Fine Gael	Agricultural Panel	18th
21	Liam Naughten (1944–1996)	8 November 1989	25 February 1993	Fine Gael	Agricultural Panel	19th
21	Liam Naughten (1944–1996)	25 February 1993	12 July 1995	Fine Gael	Agricultural Panel	20th
22	Brian Mullooly (born 1935)	19 July 1995	18 September 1997	Fine Gael	Labour Panel	20th
23	Liam T. Cosgrave (born 1956)	18 September 1997	13 September 2002	Fine Gael	Industrial and Commercial Panel	21st
24	Paddy Burke (born 1955)	13 September 2002	13 September 2007	Fine Gael	Agricultural Panel	22nd
24	Paddy Burke (born 1955)	13 September 2007	25 May 2011	Fine Gael	Agricultural Panel	23rd
25	Denis O'Donovan (born 1955)	25 May 2011	8 June 2016	Fianna Fáil	Industrial and Commercial Panel	24th
26	Paul Coghlan (born 1944)	15 June 2016	27 March 2020	Fine Gael	Industrial and Commercial Panel	25th
27	Jerry Buttimer (born 1967)	7 July 2020	21 August 2020	Fine Gael	Labour Panel	26th
28	Joe O'Reilly (born 1955)	22 August 2020	Incumbent	Fine Gael	Labour Panel	26th

References[]

^ "TDs and Senators salaries". Houses of the Oireachtas. 21 February 2020. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
^ For the pronunciation in Irish, see here.
^ "Cathaoirleach". Houses of the Oireachtas. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
^ "Former Cinn Comhairle and Cathaoirligh". Houses of the Oireachtas. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b 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.

External links[]

Official website

[1] "TDs and Senators salaries". Houses of the Oireachtas. 21 February 2020. Retrieved 21 February 2020.

[2] For the pronunciation in Irish, see here.

[3] "Cathaoirleach". Houses of the Oireachtas. Retrieved 20 January 2019.

[4] "Former Cinn Comhairle and Cathaoirligh". Houses of the Oireachtas. Retrieved 20 January 2019.

[senate-5] Jump up to: ^a ^b 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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