Áras an Uachtaráin

Áras an Uachtaráin (House of the President) is the residence of the President of Ireland in the Phoenix Park in Dublin. The building was constructed in 1751 and by 1782 it was the home of the Viceroy in Ireland who oversaw British Rule in Ireland, a function the building fulfilled until 1922 when the Irish Free State was established and it wasn’t until 1938 that the house became the home of the President of Ireland.

The role of the President of Ireland is laid out in the Constitution of Ireland. The President does not have an executive role, and so remains separate from the Government. The President of Ireland has the final choice over weather a bill will be signed into law or refer it to the Supreme Court to check its constitutionality. The President also has the power to dissolve the Dáil (Parliament). The President of Ireland serves for 7 years upon election and can serve a maximum of two terms or 14 years.

The first President of Ireland was Douglas Hyde. Initially he was to live there temporarily while another building would be constructed on the site, but the outbreak of World War II saved the building from its faith. In recent times Ireland has elected female Presidents, President Mary Robinson and President Mary McAleese who is now serving her second term. Mary Robinson started the tradition of having a candle burning in a window to remind us of all the Irish people who emigrated.

Other interesting facts about the building are that Winston Churchill grew up here when his grandfather the Duke of Malborough was Lord Lieutenant. It is often claimed that the pillars at the front of Áras an Uachtaráin were the template for the White House, but the portico was constructed after architect James Hogan left Ireland and a more educated assumption is that the portico at Leinster House was the model for the Whitehouse.

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