Names of The Irish State - Legal Description

Legal Description

Since 1949 the Republic of Ireland Act has provided that the Republic of Ireland (or Poblacht na hÉireann in Irish) is the legal description for the state. However, Ireland remains the constitutional name of the state.

The constitutional name Ireland is normally used. However, the legal description Republic of Ireland is sometimes used when disambiguation is desired between the state and the island of Ireland. In colloquial use this is often shortened to 'the Republic'.

This distinction between description and name was and remains important because the Act was not a constitutional amendment and did not change the name of the state. If it had purported to do so, it would have been unconstitutional. The distinction between a description and a name has sometimes caused confusion. The Taoiseach, John A. Costello introduced the legislation with an explanation of the difference in the following way:

If I say that my name is Costello and that my description is that of senior counsel, I think that will be clear to anybody who wants to know... name in Irish is Éire and in the English language, Ireland. Its description in the English language is "the Republic of Ireland."

Other countries do not make this distinction. The Constitution of the Italian Republic, for example, simply states that: "Italy is a democratic Republic founded on labour" and the Constitution of the French Republic similarly states only that: "France shall be an indivisible, secular, democratic and social Republic."