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  • Chief Herald of Ireland
    • Main contributor: David Ryan
    The National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin
    The National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin

    The Office of the Chief Herald of Ireland, formerly the Genealogical Office (GO), has been a part of the National Library of Ireland since 1943. Heraldic responsibility for Ireland had previously been the remit of the Office of the Ulster King of Arms, founded in 1552. Since 1943, the Chief Herald of Ireland has been responsible for the granting and confirming of arms to individuals and corporate bodies in Ireland. Section 13 of the National Cultural Institutions Act of 1997 sets out the statutory functions of the Office of the Chief Herald of Ireland.[1] All arms granted are recorded in the centuries-old Register of Arms series maintained by the Office.[2]

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    History of the office

    While the earliest reference to a herald of arms for Ireland dates from 1382, the position of Ulster King of Arms, Herald of all Ireland, was formally created by the Tudor King Edward VI in 1552.[3] The reasons for the choice of Ulster rather than Ireland remain unclear. It is possible that the older title of Ireland King of Arms was already in use amongst the heralds at the College of Arms in London.[4]

    At the outset the authority of Ulster King of Arms was limited to those areas of the country under English authority. Heraldry was not found within Gaelic culture. Up until the end of the seventeenth century the functions of the office involved ascertaining and recording what arms were in use and what right families had to use them. From the late seventeenth century, the Ulster King of Arms began to acquire other duties, as an officer of the Crown intimately linked to the government. These duties were mainly ceremonial, deciding and arranging precedence on state occasions, introducing new peers to the Irish House of Lords and recording peerage successions.

    Dr Edward MacLysaght, who held the role of Chief Herald of Ireland from 1943-1949
    Dr Edward MacLysaght, who held the role of Chief Herald of Ireland from 1943-1949

    The functioning of the office depended on the personal qualities of the office holder, and an unfortunate number of the holders of the position, in the eighteenth century especially, paid little attention to the keeping of records and treated the manuscript collection as their personal property. It was only with the arrival of Sir William Betham in the early nineteenth century that the business of the office was put on a sound footing and attention given to the collection and care of manuscripts. As a result, although a number of the official records are much earlier, the vast majority of the office's holdings do not pre-date the nineteenth century.

    In carrying out its heraldic functions, the Office inevitably acquired a large amount of material of genealogical interest, since the right to bear arms is strictly hereditary. In 1943, the Office of Arms was transferred to the control of the Irish State and renamed the Genealogical Office, and the archives transferred to the care of the National Library of Ireland. The first Chief Herald of Ireland was Dr Edward MacLysaght, who wrote extensively on the origins of Irish surnames. The role of the office had been to test the accuracy of the grandiose titles which people awarded themselves, such as The O Callaghan, The O Malley, and O Connor Donn.[5] The reconstituted Office used its skills to popularise heraldry and family research, and also deployed its talents diplomatically. At Dublin Castle for example, a coat of arms was designed for President John F. Kennedy. Heraldry was popularised among Irish organisations, companies and institutions, and Ireland’s Chief Herald contributed to the design of the European flag. This work was all linked to its physical location at Dublin Castle, which it left in 1981.[6] Since 1943, the Office of the Chief Herald of Ireland has operated as part of the National Library of Ireland, and the library appoints the Chief Herald. Since 2010, the position of Chief Herald has been associated with the Department of Special Collections.[7]

    Accessing the records

    Access to the Genealogical Office collection is through the manuscript reading room of the National Library at 2 Kildare Street, Dublin, the same building that houses the Office itself. For many manuscripts, in general those in the lower numbers, only microfilm copies are accessible, in the National Library microfilm reading room. A complete listing of microfilm copies can be found on the NLI catalogue.[8]

    Applying for a coat of arms

    The Chief Herald of Ireland may grant arms to those who meet one of the criteria below:

    • A citizen of Ireland or a person who is entitled to become a citizen.
    • A person resident in the State for at least the five-year period immediately before the date of application.
    • A public or local authority, corporate body or other entity which has been located or functioning in Ireland for at least five years.
    • An individual, corporate body or other entity not resident or located in Ireland but who or which has substantial historical, cultural, educational, financial or ancestral connections with Ireland.

    See also

    Explore more about the Chief Herald of Ireland

    References

    1. ↑ https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1997/act/11/enacted/en/html
    2. ↑ https://www.nli.ie/office-chief-herald
    3. ↑ https://www.nli.ie/office-chief-herald
    4. ↑ https://www.johngrenham.com/browse/retrieve_text.php?text_contentid=70
    5. ↑ https://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/people/maclysaght/herald.htm
    6. ↑ https://dublincastle.ie/exhibitions-2/splendour-and-scandal-the-office-of-arms-at-dublin-castle/the-queens-room/
    7. ↑ https://www.nli.ie/office-chief-herald
    8. ↑ www.nli.ie/en/heraldry-catalogues-and-databases.aspx
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