Editing Douglas Hyde (section)

==President of Ireland==

[[File:CBI - SERIES C - FIFTY POUND NOTE.PNG|right|300px|thumb|Hyde is notable in that he was the only leader of independent Ireland to be featured on its banknotes, here on a [[Series C Banknotes (Ireland)|Series C Banknote]] of IR£50.]]

===Nomination===
{{main|1938 Irish presidential election}}
In April 1938, by now retired from academia, Hyde was plucked from retirement by [[Taoiseach]] [[Éamon de Valera]] and again appointed to [[Seanad Éireann]]. Again his tenure proved short, even shorter than before; however, this time it was because Hyde was chosen, after inter-party negotiations—following an initial suggestion by [[Fine Gael]]—to be the first President of Ireland, to which office he was elected unopposed. He was selected for a number of reasons:

*Both the Taoiseach, Éamon de Valera, and the Leader of the Opposition, [[W. T. Cosgrave]], admired him.
*Both wanted a President with universal prestige to lend credibility to the new office, especially since the new 1937 Constitution [[Irish head of state from 1922 to 1949|made it unclear]] whether the President or the [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|British monarch]] was the official head of state.
*Both wanted to purge the humiliation that had occurred when Hyde lost his Senate seat in 1925.
*Both wanted a President who would prove there was no danger that the holder of the office would become an authoritarian dictator, a widespread fear when the new constitution was being discussed in 1937.
*Both wanted to pay tribute to Hyde's role in promoting the Irish language.
*Both wanted to choose a non-Catholic to disprove the assertion that the State was a "[[confessional state]]", although on 11 May 1937 [[Seán MacEntee]], the Fianna Fáil Minister of Finance, had described the 1937 Constitution in [[Dáil Éireann]] as "the Constitution of a Catholic State".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/debate/dail/1937-05-11/29|title=Bunreacht na hEireann (Dréacht)—Dara Céim. – Dáil Éireann (8th Dáil) – Tuesday, 11 May 1937 – Houses of the Oireachtas|first=Houses of the|last=Oireachtas|date=11 May 1937|website=www.oireachtas.ie|access-date=17 May 2021|archive-date=17 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517064207/https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/debate/dail/1937-05-11/29/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Inauguration===
[[File:Douglas Hyde inauguration.jpg|right|thumb|Douglas Hyde (in back of car holding top hat), leaving [[Dublin Castle]] with a cavalry escort following his inauguration.]]
Hyde was inaugurated as the first President of Ireland, on 26 June 1938. ''[[The Irish Times]]'' reported it as follows:

{{blockquote|In the morning [Dr Hyde] attended a service in [[St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin|St. Patrick's Cathedral]] presided over by the [[Archbishop of Dublin]], Dr. [[John Gregg (archbishop of Armagh)|Gregg]]. Mr. de Valera and his Ministerial colleagues attended a solemn Votive Mass in the Pro-Cathedral, and there were services in the principal Presbyterian and Methodist churches, as well as in the synagogue. Dr. Hyde was installed formally in Dublin Castle, where the seals of office were handed over by the Chief Justice. Some 200 persons were present, including the heads of the Judiciary and the chief dignitaries of the Churches. After the ceremony, President Hyde drove in procession through the beflagged streets. The procession halted for two minutes outside the [[General Post Office]] to pay homage to the memory of the men who fell in the Easter Week rebellion of 1916. Large crowds lined the streets from the Castle to the Vice-Regal Lodge and the President was welcomed with bursts of cheering. He wore morning dress, but Mr. de Valera and Mr. [[Sean T. O'Kelly]], who followed Dr. Hyde in the next motor-car, wore black clothes with felt hats.

In the evening there was a ceremony in [[Dublin Castle]] which was without precedent in Irish history. Mr. and Mrs. de Valera received about 1,500 guests at a reception in honour of the President. The reception was held in St. Patrick's Hall, where the banners of the Knights of St. Patrick are still hung. The attendance included all the members of the Dail and Senate with their ladies, members of the Judiciary and the chiefs of the Civil Service, Dr. [[Paschal Robinson]], the Papal Nuncio at the head of the Diplomatic Corps, several Roman Catholic Bishops, the [[Primate of All Ireland]], the Archbishop of Dublin, the [[Bishop of Killaloe]], the heads of the Presbyterian and Methodist congregations, the Provost and Vice Provost of Trinity College, and the President of the National University. It was the most colourful event that has been held in Dublin since the inauguration of the new order in Ireland, and the gathering, representing as it did every shade of political, religious, and social opinion in Eire [Ireland], might be regarded as a microcosm of the new Ireland.<ref>''The Irish Times'', 27 June 1938.</ref>}}

Hyde set a precedent by reciting the Presidential Declaration of Office in Irish. His recitation, in Roscommon Irish, is one of a few recordings of a dialect of which Hyde was one of the last speakers. Upon inauguration, he moved into the long-vacant ''Viceregal Lodge'' in [[Phoenix Park]], since known as [[Áras an Uachtaráin]].

Hyde's selection and inauguration received worldwide media attention and was covered by newspapers in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina, and even Egypt.<ref name="ReferenceA">Brian Murphy in the Irish Independent; 1 October 2016 ''Hyde, Hitler and why our first president fascinated press around the world''</ref> Hitler "ordered" the Berlin newspapers "to splash" on the Irish presidential installation ceremony.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> However, the British government ignored the event.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> The Northern Ireland Finance Minister, [[J. M. Andrews]], described Hyde's inauguration as a "slight on the King" and "a deplorable tragedy".<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

===Presidency===
{{more citations needed section|date=March 2016}}
Despite being placed in a position to shape the office of the presidency via precedent, Hyde by and large opted for a quiet, conservative interpretation of the office. His age and health obligated him to schedule periods of rest throughout his days, and his lack of political experience caused him to defer to his advisers on questions of policy and discretionary powers, especially to his Secretary, Michael McDunphy. On 13 November 1938, just months after Hyde's inauguration, Hyde attended an international soccer match between Ireland and [[Poland]] at [[Dalymount Park]] in Dublin. This was seen as breaching the [[Gaelic Athletic Association|GAA]]'s ban on 'foreign games' and he was subsequently removed as patron of the GAA, an honour he had held since 1902.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collinspress.ie/the-gaa-v-douglas-hyde.html|title=The GAA v Douglas Hyde|author=Cormac Moore|publisher=Collins Press|access-date=10 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010131753/http://www.collinspress.ie/the-gaa-v-douglas-hyde.html|archive-date=10 October 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

After a massive stroke in April 1940, plans were made for his lying-in-state and a state funeral. However, Hyde survived, albeit paralysed and having to use a wheelchair.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Douglas Hyde: The Unlikely First President of Ireland |url=https://www.ireland-information.com/articles/douglashyde.htm
|access-date=2023-05-06 |website=ireland-information.com}}</ref>

Although the role of the President of Ireland is largely ceremonial, the president has the authority under the [[Constitution of Ireland]] to refuse to grant a dissolution of the Dáil where the Taoiseach has ceased to retain the support of a majority of the Dáil. The president is also the guardian of the constitution and may refer legislation to the Supreme Court before signing it into law.

Hyde was confronted with a crisis in 1944 when de Valera's government unexpectedly collapsed in a vote on the Transport Bill. De Valera asked Hyde for a dissolution of the Dáil. If a dissolution is granted, a general election is proclaimed to fill the seats thereby vacated. This means that for four to six weeks until the new Dáil assembled, there is no Dáil. Fearing this gap might facilitate an invasion during [[World War II]], during which no parliament could be called upon to act, the Oireachtas enacted [https://web.archive.org/web/20051205033004/http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/ZZA11Y1943.html the General Elections (Emergency Powers) Act 1943], legislation under the emergency provisions of Article 28.3.3°), which allowed an election to be called separate from a dissolution, with the Dáil only being dissolved just before new Dáil would assemble. This ensured the gap between Dála (plural of Dáil) would be too short to cause a vacuum in major decision-making. Under the Act, the President could "refuse to proclaim a general election on the advice of a Taoiseach who had ceased to retain the support of a majority in Dáil Éireann". Hyde had that option but, after considering it with his senior advisor Michael McDunphy, he granted the dissolution.{{citation needed|date=March 2016}}

Hyde twice used his prerogative under Article 26 of the Constitution, having consulted the [[Council of State (Ireland)|Council of State]], to refer a Bill or part of a Bill to the Supreme Court, for the court's decision on whether the Bill or part referred is repugnant to the Constitution (so that the Bill in question cannot be signed into law).{{citation needed|date=March 2016}} On the first occasion, the court held that the Bill referred – Offences Against the State (Amendment) Bill 1940 – was not repugnant to the Constitution.<ref>''Re Article 26 of the Constitution and the Offences Against the State (Amendment) Bill, 1940'' [1940] I.R. 470.</ref> In response to the second reference, the Court decided that the particular provision referred to – section 4 of the School Attendance Bill 1942 – was repugnant to the Constitution.<ref>''Re Article 26 of the Constitution and the School Attendance Bill, 1942'' [1943] I.R. 334.</ref> Because of Article 34.3.3° of the Constitution, the constitutional validity of the Offences Against the State (Amendment) Act, 1940<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1940/en/act/pub/0002/index.html|title=Offences Against the State (Amendment) Act, 1940|work=[[Irish Statute Book]]|access-date=10 January 2013|archive-date=8 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121008005521/http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1940/en/act/pub/0002/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> cannot be challenged in any court, since the Bill which became that Act was found by the Supreme Court not to be repugnant in the context of an Article 26 reference.{{clarify|date=March 2016}}

One of Hyde's last presidential acts was a visit to the German Ambassador [[Eduard Hempel]], on 3 May 1945, to offer his formal condolences on the [[death of Adolf Hitler]]. The visit remained a secret until 2005.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.ie/national-news/hyde-and-de-valera-offered-condolences-on-hitlers-death-228426.html|title=Hyde (and de Valera) offered condolences on Hitler's death|work=[[Irish Independent]]|date=31 December 2005|access-date=6 November 2010|archive-date=24 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024195100/http://www.independent.ie/national-news/hyde-and-de-valera-offered-condolences-on-hitlers-death-228426.html|url-status=live}}</ref>