The (;For the pronunciation in Irish, see here . Irish for chairperson; plural: ) is the chair (or presiding officer) of Seanad Éireann, the sixty-member upper house of the Oireachtas, the legislature of Ireland. The Cathaoirleach's deputy is the .
Mark Daly, a Fianna Fáil senator, has held the office of Cathaoirleach since 12 February 2025.
Powers and functions The Cathaoirleach is the sole judge of order, and has a range of powers and functions, namely:
Calls on members to speak and all speeches must be addressed to the Chair. Puts such questions to the House as are required, supervises Divisions and declares the results. Has authority to suppress disorder, to enforce prompt obedience to Rulings and may order members to withdraw from the House or name them for suspension by the House itself for a period. In the case of great disorder can suspend or adjourn the House.
The Cathaoirleach is also an member of the Council of State, which advises the president of Ireland in the exercise of their discretionary powers, and of the Presidential Commission, which performs the powers and functions of the office of president in their absence.
Seanad of the Irish Free State The Seanad Éireann of the Irish Free State elected a new Cathaoirleach and Leas-Chathaoirleach after each triennial election. Its last sitting was held on 19 May 1936. The Seanad was abolished on 29 May 1936. The election for the new Seanad, set up in accordance with the 1937 Constitution of Ireland, was held on 28 March 1938, and its sitting was held on 27 April 1938.
List of office-holders Cathaoirleach SeanadNamePortraitTerm of officePartyPanel1922Lord Glenavy6 December 19226 December 1928N/A19251928Thomas Westropp Bennett6 December 192819 May 1936N/A193119342ndSeán Gibbons27 April 19388 September 1943Agricultural Panel3rd4thSeán Goulding8 September 1943 21 April 1948 Industrial and Commercial Panel5thAdministrative Panel6thTimothy O'Donovan21 April 1948 14 August 1951Agricultural Panel7thLiam Ó Buachalla14 August 195122 July 1954Cultural and Educational Panel8thPatrick Baxter22 July 195422 May 1957Agricultural Panel9thLiam Ó Buachalla22 May 19575 November 1969Cultural and Educational Panel10th11th12thMichael Yeats5 November 19693 January 1973Cultural and Educational PanelMicheál Cranitch3 January 1973 1 June 1973Nominated by the Taoiseach13thJames Dooge1 June 1973 27 October 1977Industrial and Commercial Panel14thSéamus Dolan27 October 1977 8 October 1981Labour Panel15thCharles McDonald8 October 1981 13 May 1982Agricultural Panel16thTras Honan13 May 1982 23 February 1983Administrative Panel17thPatrick J. Reynolds23 February 1983 25 April 1987Industrial and Commercial Panel18thTras Honan25 April 1987 1 November 1989Administrative Panel19thSeán Doherty1 November 1989 23 January 1992Administrative PanelSeán Fallon23 January 1992 4 July 1995Industrial and Commercial Panel20thLiam Naughten12 July 1995 16 November 1996Agricultural PanelLiam T. Cosgrave27 November 1996 17 September 1997Industrial and Commercial Panel21stBrian Mullooly17 September 1997 12 September 2002Labour Panel22ndRory Kiely12 September 2002 13 September 2007 Agricultural Panel23rdPat Moylan13 September 2007 25 May 2011Agricultural Panel24thPaddy Burke25 May 20118 June 2016Agricultural Panel25thDenis O'Donovan8 June 201629 June 2020Agricultural Panel26thMark Daly29 June 202016 December 2022Administrative PanelJerry Buttimer16 December 202230 November 2024Labour Panel27thMark Daly12 February 2025IncumbentAdministrative Panel
Leas-Chathaoirleach The Leas-Chathaoirleach is the deputy chair of the Seanad. SeanadNamePortraitTerm of officePartyPanel1922James G. Douglas12 December 19229 December 1925N/A1925Thomas Westropp Bennett9 December 192512 December 1928N/A1928Patrick W. Kenny12 December 192822 April 1931N/APatrick Hooper6 May 19316 September 1931N/A1931Michael F. O'Hanlon20 January 193212 December 1934N/A1934Michael Comyn12 December 193424 February 1936N/ADavid Robinson11 March 193619 May 1936N/A2ndPádraic Ó Máille11 May 193830 November 1938Agricultural Panel3rdMichael Tierney30 November 193827 October 1943National University of Ireland4th27 October 194318 August 19445thTimothy O'Donovan18 August 194421 April 1948Agricultural Panel6thSeán Goulding21 April 194814 August 1951Administrative Panel7thTimothy O'Donovan7 November 195127 July 1954Agricultural Panel8thLiam Ó Buachalla27 July 195429 May 1957Cultural and Educational Panel9thPatrick Baxter29 May 19573 April 1959Agricultural PanelJohn O'Donovan30 May 19593 January 1962Cultural and Educational Panel10thPatrick Lindsay3 January 196230 June 1965Industrial and Commercial Panel11thJames Dooge30 June 196512 November 1969Labour Panel12th12 November 196920 June 1973Industrial and Commercial Panel13thEvelyn Owens20 June 19732 November 1977Labour Panel14thJoe McCartin2 November 197712 July 1979Agricultural PanelCharles McDonald18 July 197913 May 1982Agricultural Panel15thSéamus Dolan9 October 198119 May 1982Labour Panel16thCharles McDonald19 May 19829 March 1983Agricultural Panel17thTras Honan9 March 198325 April 1987Administrative Panel18thCharles McDonald20 May 19878 November 1989Agricultural Panel19thLiam Naughten8 November 198925 February 1993Agricultural Panel20th25 February 199312 July 1995Brian Mullooly19 July 199518 September 1997Labour Panel21stLiam T. Cosgrave18 September 199713 September 2002Industrial and Commercial Panel22ndPaddy Burke13 September 200213 September 2007Agricultural Panel23rd13 September 200725 May 201124thDenis O'Donovan25 May 20118 June 2016Industrial and Commercial Panel25thPaul Coghlan15 June 201627 March 2020Industrial and Commercial Panel26thJerry Buttimer7 July 202021 August 2020Labour PanelJoe O'Reilly22 August 202016 December 2022Labour PanelMark Daly16 December 202212 February 2025Administrative Panel27thMaria Byrne19 February 2025IncumbentAgricultural Panel
See also Ceann Comhairle (Chairperson of Dáil Éireann) Leader of the Seanad
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