Cultural and Educational Panel

Cultural and Educational Panel
Seanad Éireann constituency
Current constituency
Created	1938
Seats	5
Senators	Malcolm Byrne (FF)   Lisa Chambers (FF)   Seán Kyne (FG)   John McGahon (FG)   Fintan Warfield (SF)

The Cultural and Educational Panel is one of five vocational panels which together elect 43 of the 60 members of Seanad Éireann, the senate of the Oireachtas (the legislature of Ireland). The Cultural and Educational Panel elects five senators.

Election

Article 18 of the Constitution of Ireland provides that 43 of the 60 senators are to be elected from five vocational panels. The Cultural and Educational Panel is defined in Article 18.7.1° (i) as "National Language and Culture, Literature, Art, Education and such professional interests as may be defined by law for the purpose of this panel".^[1] The Seanad returning officer maintains a list of nominating bodies for each of the five panels.^[2] Candidates may be nominated either by four members of the Oireachtas or by a nominating body.^[3][4] The electorate consists of city and county councillors and current members of the Oireachtas. As the Seanad election takes place after the election to the Dáil, the Oireachtas members are the members of the incoming Dáil and the outgoing Seanad.^[5] Five senators are elected on the Cultural and Educational Panel, at least two of whom must have been nominated by Oireachtas members and at least two must have been nominated by nominating bodies.^[6][7]

Senators

Senators for the Cultural and Educational Panel
Key to parties   FF = Fianna Fáil   FG = Fine Gael   Lab = Labour   SF = Sinn Féin   Ind = Independent
Sen	Election	Senator (Party)		Senator (Party)		Senator (Party)		Senator (Party)		Senator (Party)
2nd	1938		Séamus Ó hEocha (Ind)		Seán O'Donovan (FF)		Gearóid O'Sullivan (FG)		Patrick Doyle (FG)		James Parkinson[a] (FG)
3rd	1938		Thomas Delany[b] (Ind)				James Crosbie (FG)
	1941		Thomas J. O'Connell[c] (Lab)
4th	1943						Donal O'Sullivan (Ind)
5th	1944		Patrick J. O'Reilly (Ind)				Louis O'Dea (FF)
6th	1948		Thomas J. O'Connell (Lab)		Liam Ó Buachalla (FF)		Frank Loughman (FF)		Cecil Lavery[d] (FG)		Michael Hayes (FG)
7th	1951		Patrick F. O'Reilly (Ind)						James B. Lynch[e] (FF)
8th	1954		Thomas J. O'Connell (Lab)				Eamon Kissane (FF)		Michael ffrench-O'Carroll (Ind)		James Crosbie (FG)
9th	1957		Anthony Barry (FG)						John O'Donovan (FG)		Michael Hayes (FG)
10th	1961		Timothy McAuliffe (Lab)						John J. Nash (FF)
11th	1965						Michael O'Kennedy (FF)				Ben O'Quigley[f] (FG)
12th	1969		John Kelly (FG)		Kit Ahern (FF)		Michael Yeats (FF)				Michael O'Higgins (FG)
13th	1973		Timothy McAuliffe (Lab)						Billy Fox[g] (FG)		Mary Walsh[h] (FG)
	1975								Roddy Connolly[i] (Lab)
	1976										Vincent McHugh[j] (FG)
14th	1977				Richard Conroy (FF)		Flor Crowley (FF)		Patrick Cooney (FG)		David Molony (FG)
15th	1981				Mary O'Rourke (FF)		Joe Walsh (FF)		Patsy Lawlor (FG)		Maurice Manning (FG)
16th	1982						Séamus de Brún (FF)		Joachim Loughrey (FG)		Madeleine Taylor (FG)
17th	1983		Helena McAuliffe-Ennis[k] (Lab)		Michael Smith (FF)						Brian Fleming (FG)
18th	1987		Seán Byrne (FF)		Tony McKenna (FF)		Paschal Mooney (FF)				Maurice Manning (FG)
19th	1989				Éamon Ó Cuív (FF)				Joe O'Reilly (FG)
20th	1993		Madeleine Taylor-Quinn (FG)		Mary Kelly (Lab)				Ann Ormonde (FF)
21st	1997				Labhrás Ó Murchú[l] (FF)
22nd	2002		Noel Coonan (FG)								Brian Hayes (FG)
23rd	2007		Alex White (Lab)				Cecilia Keaveney (FF)				Liam Twomey (FG)
24th	2011		John Gilroy (Lab)				Thomas Byrne (FF)		Deirdre Clune[m] (FG)		Michael Mullins (FG)
	2014								Gerard Craughwell[n] (Ind)
25th	2016		Fintan Warfield (SF)		Lorraine Clifford-Lee (FF)		Keith Swanick (FF)		Gabrielle McFadden (FG)		Kieran O'Donnell[o] (FG)
26th	2020				Malcolm Byrne (FF)		Lisa Chambers (FF)		Seán Kyne (FG)		John McGahon (FG)

Note: The columns in this table are used only for presentational purposes, and no significance should be attached to the order of columns.

Notes

1. Resigned on 31 July 1947 due to ill-health.
2. Died on 9 July 1939.
3. Elected to Seanad at a by-election on 22 January 1941, to replace Thomas Delany.
4. Appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court on 21 April 1950.
5. Died on 12 March 1954.
6. Died on 29 May 1969.
7. Assassinated on 12 March 1974.
8. Died on 18 August 1976.
9. Elected to Seanad at a by-election 23 April 1975, in place of Billy Fox.
10. Elected to Seanad at a by-election on 25 October 1976, replacing Mary Walsh.
11. Joined the Progressive Democrats in 1986.
12. Resigned the Fianna Fáil whip on 7 July 2010, rejoining on 23 November 2010.
13. Elected to the European Parliament in May 2014.
14. Elected in a by-election on 10 October 2014, replacing Deirdre Clune.
15. Elected to Dáil Éireann on 8 February 2020.

List of nominating bodies

The following bodies are on the register of nominating bodies maintained by the Seanad Returning Officer for the Cultural and Educational Panel:^[8]

• Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland (ASTI)
• Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann
• Comhlámh
• Conradh na Gaeilge
• Bar Council of Ireland
• Dental Council of Ireland
• Drama League of Ireland
• Education and Training Boards Ireland
• Gael Linn
• Gaeloideachas
• Genealogical Society of Ireland
• Institute of Community Health Nursing
• Institute of Guidance Counsellors
• Irish Countrywomen's Association
• Irish Dental Association
• Irish Federation of University Teachers
• Irish Georgian Society
• Irish National Teachers' Organisation
• Law Society of Ireland
• Library Association of Ireland
• Local Authority Medical Specialists
• National Youth Council of Ireland
• Old Dublin Society
• Royal College of Physicians of Ireland
• Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
• Royal Irish Academy
• Royal Irish Academy of Music
• Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland
• Teachers' Union of Ireland
• Theatre Forum
• Údarás na Gaeltachta
• Veterinary Council
• Visual Artists Ireland
• Writers' Guild of Ireland

References

1. "Constitution of Ireland". Irish Statute Book. Archived from the original on 3 May 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
2. "Seanad Electoral (Panel Members) Act 1947, Section 8: Establishment and maintenance of register of nominating bodies". Irish Statute Book. 19 December 1947. Archived from the original on 2 March 2020. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
3. "Seanad Electoral (Panel Members) Act 1947, Section 25: Nomination to panels by members of Oireachtas". Irish Statute Book. 19 December 1947. Archived from the original on 2 March 2020. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
4. "Seanad Electoral (Panel Members) Act 1947, Section 26: Proposals for nominations to panel by registered nominating bodies". Irish Statute Book. 19 December 1947. Archived from the original on 2 March 2020. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
5. "Seanad Electoral (Panel Members) Act 1947, Section 44: The electorate". Irish Statute Book. 19 December 1947. Archived from the original on 2 March 2020. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
6. "Seanad Electoral (Panel Members) Act 1947, Section 52: Allocation of members amongst the panels". Irish Statute Book. 19 December 1947. Archived from the original on 28 March 2020. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
7. "The Seanad Éireann Electoral Process" (PDF). Oireachtas. February 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 March 2020. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
8. "Register of Nominating Bodies as revised at the annual revision and signed by the Seanad Returning Officer in pursuance of section 19 of the Seanad Electoral (Panel Members) Act 1947, as amended" (PDF). Oireachtas. 19 July 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 February 2020. Retrieved 29 March 2020.