Order of precedence in the Republic of Ireland

President

The Constitution of Ireland states that the President of Ireland "shall take precedence over all other persons in the State". This formula was used when the Constitution was enacted in 1937, instead of describing the President as head of state. The question of whether the head of state was the President or the British monarch was deliberately ambiguous until the Republic of Ireland Act came into force in 1949.

In the 1950s, when President Seán T. O'Kelly was to host a dinner for Ettore Felici, the papal nuncio to Ireland, the President's office asked the Department of External Affairs whether the first toast should be for the President or the pope; the department responded that "there was no doubt that the first toast at a function should be 'President of Ireland'".

The state directory published by the Institute of Public Administration states that the President takes precedence within the country in all formal addresses and at all functions social or ceremonial.

Local government

Some county councils and city councils state that the council's mayor or cathaoirleach, if attending a function within the county or city in an official capacity, is expected to take precedence over everyone except the President of Ireland if present. The medieval characterisation of a mayor as "first citizen" is still found. Thus, for example, the Lord Mayor of Dublin has precedence over the Taoiseach within the city of Dublin.

Prior to the Local Government Reform Act 2014, the mayor or cathaoirleach of a borough or town council took precedence within the town over the mayor or cathaoirleach of the council of the county within which the town was located. As the level below county councils, the 2014 act replaced town councils with municipal district councils, whose mayor or cathaoirleach does not take precedence over the county mayor. The 2014 act also merged Waterford County Council and Waterford City Council into Waterford City and County Council. The Mayor of Waterford, now head of a municipal district council rather than a city council, complained at being outranked by the Cathaoirleach and Leas-Cathaoirleach of the merged city-and-county council. A similar change affected the Mayor of Limerick within the new Limerick City and County Council.

In multiple-seat local electoral areas for urban councils, the first councillor elected formerly held the symbolic title alderman, until the distinction was abolished by the Local Government Act 2001. Aldermen were ranked by seniority of first election to the council.

Diplomatic corps

The Irish Free State became independent in 1922, and after a 1928 visit from Frank B. Kellogg, the U.S. Secretary of State, the Department of External Affairs began consultation on diplomatic protocol, including establishing policy on precedence.

The papal nuncio to Ireland, as ambassador of the Holy See, is dean of the diplomatic corps and takes precedence over other ambassadors, who are ranked by seniority of appointment. The papal nuncio exception is permitted under the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. The 1961 treaty recognised a custom already widespread and present in Ireland since the first nuncio was appointed in 1930, when he was second in overall precedence to the Governor-General of the Irish Free State.

Courts

The Courts of Justice Act 1924, as amended, provides for the order of precedence between judges as follows:

1. the Chief Justice;
2. the President of the Court of Appeal;
3. the President of the High Court;
4. former Chief Justices in order of appointment;
5. ordinary judges of the Supreme Court (excluding ex-officio judges) in order of appointment;
6. judges of the Court of Appeal who are ex officio judges of the Supreme Court (being former Presidents of the Court of Appeal or of the High Court) in order of appointment as President of the respective court;
7. judges of the High Court who are ex officio judges of the Supreme Court (being former Presidents of the High Court) in order of appointment as President of the High Court.
8. judges of the Court of Appeal in order of appointment;
9. ordinary judges of the High Court (excluding ex-officio judges) in order of appointment;
10. the President of the Circuit Court by virtue of being an ex-officio judge of the High Court;
11. former Presidents of the Circuit Court in order of appointment.

Frances Fitzgerald, the Minister for Justice and Equality, explained the purpose of the provision in Seanad Éireann at its revision in 2014:

I wish to make the point that precedence and the order does not have anything to do with salaries. It is a well established hierarchical structure. It is interesting to note, for example, that in some legislation one will have inbuilt in the legislation a particular order in which a particular issue is dealt with. Therefore, the listing and, if one likes, hierarchical structure can address the issue. In certain contexts provision is made for the next most senior judge to hear a case or organise the business of the court so there is an order of precedence imported in that context. It is to deal with those issues that we have set out the order in section 28 and that is the only reason.

The 1924 act also prescribes that the precedence of "ordinary judges" of the Circuit Court is by date of appointment; this excludes the "specialist judges" introduced in 2012 for personal insolvency cases.

A patent of precedence is used to assign the title Senior Counsel to a barrister.