Freedom of association in Ireland

Ó Conaill, Seán

Freedom of association in Ireland

Files

SWP 13 Final O Conaill Ireland.pdf(1.27 MB)

Published Version

Date

2024-03-01

Authors

Ó Conaill, Seán

Publisher

School of Law, University College Cork

Abstract

This article examines the nature, scope and the rationale that underpin the right to freedom of association as seen in Article 40.6.1(iii) of the Irish Constitution, which provides that: ‘The State guarantees liberty for the exercise of the following rights, subject to public order and morality: … the right of the citizens to form associations and unions. Laws, however, may be enacted for the regulation and control in the public interest of the exercise of the foregoing right.’ Prior to the independence, which came about albeit in limited form, in 1922 as a result of ratification of the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 by the Irish people, Ireland was administered as a distinct region of the United Kingdom with the common law and British constitutional conventions shaping the law in Ireland. Given such a system lacked any written constitution or clear rights-based discourse, there is little to no lasting impact of this period on the modern Irish legal situation pertaining to the Right to Freedom of Association although the trade union movement in Ireland does trace its existence to the period prior to independence. Instead, the true start of the story of Freedom of Association in Ireland can be found with the coming into force of the 1922 Constitution of the Irish Free State. The wording of the right in Article 40.6.1(iii) of Ireland’s current Constitution repeats almost precisely the wording of Ireland’s first post-independence Constitution in 1922 in Article 9 albeit that it presented slightly differently. Ruling of Irish Courts and legislative enactments from 1922 onwards are thus most relevant when assessing the right of freedom of association.

Keywords

Freedom of association , Ireland

Citation

Ó Conaill, S. (2024) 'Freedom of association in Ireland', Societās Working Paper 13/2024 (9pp). Cork: School of Law, University College Cork.