A Chairde
August 2009 was the tenth anniversary of the ‘de-recognition’ of ‘The MacCarthy Mór’ by the Chief Herald of Ireland in July 1999 following years of speculation and controversy regarding the validity of Mr. Terence McCarthy’s claim to Gaelic chieftainship. Indeed, during his tenure as the recognised ‘The MacCarthy Mór’ this flamboyant claimant from Belfast succeeded in expanding the notion of Gaelic chieftainship to include the granting of 'baronial titles' to his followers and the establishment of a ‘royal court’ much to the amusement and annoyance of some of the genuine chiefs. Whilst, the ‘bogus chiefs’ affair has all the ingredients for a satirical comedy on fanciful notions of nobility in a republic, however, it is unfortunate that the serious underlying causes for this scandal have not attracted the attention of investigative journalists or documentary makers.
Finally, in July 2003 the State formally abolished the facility of ’courtesy recognition’ afforded to Irish Gaelic chiefs – which had no constitutional basis whatsoever. But this unwittingly placed all Gaelic chiefs, bogus and legitimate, in the same predicament. At the root of this ’bogus chiefs’ scandal was a failure on behalf of the State’s officials to properly examine claims for recognition or indeed, to have such examined by competent researchers.
Some have very convincingly argued that if the procedures established by Ireland’s first Chief Herald had been observed the State would have been spared the embarrassment of the ’bogus chiefs’ scandal. Documentation lodged with the Chief Herald was found to be ‘lacking in genealogical integrity’ as dates, events and other pertinent facts were omitted, altered or ’created’ for the exercise.
The publication of a detailed background to the ’bogus chiefs’ affair by lecturer and genealogist, Mr. Seán Murphy, MA, should have encouraged the development of a climate of careful investigation of facts and procedures at the ’office’ of the Chief Herald of Ireland. However, instead of seeking an official inquiry into the circumstances which permitted the ‘bogus chiefs’ and related scandals to bring Irish heraldry into international disrepute, vested interests sought to deflect attention away from the core issues by attacking those uncovering and publishing the details of this scandal.
Indeed, claims on the website of the National Library of Ireland http://www.nli.ie/ continue to undermine the integrity of the ‘office’ and prove that little or nothing has been learned from past controversies. Visitors to the website are informed that ‘the post of Ulster King of Arms, Herald of all Ireland, was created by the Crown in 1552 and continued under the name until 1943 when the Office of Arms was transferred to the Government of Ireland and renamed the Genealogical Office’ and that ‘in 1943 heraldic responsibility passed to the Irish State. Dr Edward MacLysaght, styled Chief Genealogical Officer to which was later added Chief Herald of Ireland, succeeded to the functions and powers of Ulster King of Arms.’
The above statements ’lack historical integrity’ and indicate that the fanciful notions of some vested interests persist. But visitors to the National Library website would find it very difficult to establish the true facts of the matter. Indeed, unlike investigating a corporate body where details are freely available from the Companies Registration Office website http://www.cro.ie/ or indeed, a person’s birth, marriage or death details from the General Register Office, checking the veracity of the statements on the origin of Irish heraldic authority is difficult. Most published accounts of its origin tended to just ’absorb’ the official line as stated on the website without qualification. No doubt it’s simply a case of ’say it long enough and convincingly enough’ and it becomes a part of the historical narrative of Irish heraldry.
Without restating the facts here it is suffice to quote from a small piece on the front page of ‘The Age’ newspaper published at Melbourne, Australia on March 26th 1943 with the headline ‘End of Ancient Office’ and then the writer very succinctly presents the facts of the story as follows. ‘The last relic of British rule in Éire will vanish this month, when the office of Ulster King of Arms in Dublin Castle will be wound up. The office was created in 1552. Valuable heraldic documents which were formerly under the care of this official will be transferred to an Irish state department.’ Simple and to the point, the British closed the office and transferred its contents to the Irish—absolutely nothing more. Legally the current Irish heraldic authority only dates from May 2005 and not 1943.
The Genealogy & Heraldry Bill, 2006 sought to provide a sound legal basis for the delivery of Irish heraldic services and to regulate the situation for all grants made by the Chief Heralds of Ireland between 1943 and 2005. Though, this Bill was not accepted by the then Minister, Mr. John O’Donoghue, TD, it was sent to the Board of the National Library for its
consideration. Indeed, Irish heraldic services were suspended for a period of eight months in 2007 due to the legal uncertainties surrounding the State’s delivery of such services. On 25 October 2007, the State finally agreed that it had no power to grant arms between 1943 and 2005 – but this is not reflected in the information on the NLI website. Calls to amend the NLI website have been ignored. However, for genealogists, historians and heraldists, the importance of the publication of verifiable information such as dates, sources, events etc should always be of the utmost concern.Senator Alex White introduced a short bill - National Cultural Institutions (Amendment) Bill, 2008 - which aims to deal with the anomalies created by the implementation of Sections 12 and 13 of the National Cultural Institutions Act, 1997 in May 2005. However, with Government plans to amalgamate the National Library and the National Archives new legislation will be required. It remains to be seen if the Minister will address this matter in such legislation.
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