Today was another chilly day with sparse raining throughout. We made our first stop to the home of the Oireachtas (what would comparably be our legislative branch here in the states), the Leinster House. The Oirechtas Eireann consists of two legistlative houses: the Dail Eireann and the Seanad Eireann, but also The President of Ireland. So it could be more aptly described as a merging of the Legislative and Executive Branch.
We were first guided to the Dail Chamber, where we were informed about the processes carried out there. The Dail Eireann is the lower house of the legislation but the more powerful of the two. It consists of 166 members, who are selected every five years by the members of the Republic of Ireland (voting age 18). The total number of members is not a set number, but must never be lower than the ratio of 1:30,000 citizens nor higher than 1:20,000 to those that they're representing. The parties that these members inhabit are Sinn Fein, Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, Labour Party and a few other small parties that usually only have 1-2 members per, as well as Independent parties which seem to be becoming more popular as the years progress. There is also one Ceann Comhairle, which acts as a mediator between the discussions of the Dail. I found it interesting that was a time limit clock set to a max of four minutes, more so interesting that we don't employ a similar strategy in America. This will help eliminate the amount of filibustering that goes on in our councils, or that's the hope.
Their powers include: nominating the new Taoiseach, approving the budget, approve a declaration of war, and basically any bill passed through them will become law. While the president can veto a bill if it conflicts with the Constitution, it must first be reviewed by the Supreme Court of Ireland.
We then moved to the room where the Seanad Eireann, or the Senate, met. The Seanad was originally tasked with revising and reviewing proposals that came from the Dail and then propose any amendments needed. It still carries most of this job but can also delay bills passed by the Dail, though they can veto them outright. The Seanad consists of sixty members in total; however these members are not all elected by the voting of the people of Ireland but are nominated through a few means: eleven are appointed by the current Taoiseach, six elected from Universities, and 43 are nominated from a panel of the Dail and Senators.
We then ended our tour and continued on to the Collins Barracks, which are now home to the National Museum of Ireland, Decorative Arts and History. This museum contained a vast collection including (but not limited to): military vehicles and uniforms, art both contemporary and classical, silver in every shape of plate ware and liquid holder imaginable, Irish clothing dating back 200 years, and a hall dedicated to the Easter Rising of 1916. The Easter Rebellion was the inevitable climax of the British Home Rule in Ireland. The purpose was to secede from the English Rule and form an entirely independent nation, while Britain was preoccupied with WWI. This armed battle began on Monday April 24, 1916; those involved seized key locations throughout Dublin, notably the post office where Michael Collins held of British troops until he was wounded. The rebels surrendered and executed. Michael Collins however was too wounded from the battle to stand during his firing squad execution, so he was tied to a chair and then shot. This resulted in a lot of sentiment among the citizens in Ireland, which would fuel the fire to later spark the Irish War for Independence, Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921, and the eventual division of Ireland into the north and south.
After getting lunch in the cafe at the barracks, we each left on our individual ways in our Buddy pairs. Suzie and I visited the Hugh Lane Gallery on Parnell Square. The gallery was quite lovely, containing painted works from numerous artists, as well as a sculpture exhibit on the first floor. Though all of it was pretty, it wasn't quite my cup of tea. Though one artist, who piece was four simple pictures that couldn't have been more than 9x5 inches each, caught my eye. His name was Andrew Grassie, and he is known for his hyper-realistic style of painting. The pictures he had in the gallery were simply four pictures of roughly the same bedroom and desk, with a few things moved around in each. It was only after reading the description of them did I realize that they were paintings, not photographs, and that thoroughly blew my mind but was really the only thing to stick out at the gallery.
The day ended actually rather early, around 5-6. This will hopefully allow us to recuperate a bit for tomorrow.
We were first guided to the Dail Chamber, where we were informed about the processes carried out there. The Dail Eireann is the lower house of the legislation but the more powerful of the two. It consists of 166 members, who are selected every five years by the members of the Republic of Ireland (voting age 18). The total number of members is not a set number, but must never be lower than the ratio of 1:30,000 citizens nor higher than 1:20,000 to those that they're representing. The parties that these members inhabit are Sinn Fein, Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, Labour Party and a few other small parties that usually only have 1-2 members per, as well as Independent parties which seem to be becoming more popular as the years progress. There is also one Ceann Comhairle, which acts as a mediator between the discussions of the Dail. I found it interesting that was a time limit clock set to a max of four minutes, more so interesting that we don't employ a similar strategy in America. This will help eliminate the amount of filibustering that goes on in our councils, or that's the hope.
Their powers include: nominating the new Taoiseach, approving the budget, approve a declaration of war, and basically any bill passed through them will become law. While the president can veto a bill if it conflicts with the Constitution, it must first be reviewed by the Supreme Court of Ireland.
We then moved to the room where the Seanad Eireann, or the Senate, met. The Seanad was originally tasked with revising and reviewing proposals that came from the Dail and then propose any amendments needed. It still carries most of this job but can also delay bills passed by the Dail, though they can veto them outright. The Seanad consists of sixty members in total; however these members are not all elected by the voting of the people of Ireland but are nominated through a few means: eleven are appointed by the current Taoiseach, six elected from Universities, and 43 are nominated from a panel of the Dail and Senators.
We then ended our tour and continued on to the Collins Barracks, which are now home to the National Museum of Ireland, Decorative Arts and History. This museum contained a vast collection including (but not limited to): military vehicles and uniforms, art both contemporary and classical, silver in every shape of plate ware and liquid holder imaginable, Irish clothing dating back 200 years, and a hall dedicated to the Easter Rising of 1916. The Easter Rebellion was the inevitable climax of the British Home Rule in Ireland. The purpose was to secede from the English Rule and form an entirely independent nation, while Britain was preoccupied with WWI. This armed battle began on Monday April 24, 1916; those involved seized key locations throughout Dublin, notably the post office where Michael Collins held of British troops until he was wounded. The rebels surrendered and executed. Michael Collins however was too wounded from the battle to stand during his firing squad execution, so he was tied to a chair and then shot. This resulted in a lot of sentiment among the citizens in Ireland, which would fuel the fire to later spark the Irish War for Independence, Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921, and the eventual division of Ireland into the north and south.
After getting lunch in the cafe at the barracks, we each left on our individual ways in our Buddy pairs. Suzie and I visited the Hugh Lane Gallery on Parnell Square. The gallery was quite lovely, containing painted works from numerous artists, as well as a sculpture exhibit on the first floor. Though all of it was pretty, it wasn't quite my cup of tea. Though one artist, who piece was four simple pictures that couldn't have been more than 9x5 inches each, caught my eye. His name was Andrew Grassie, and he is known for his hyper-realistic style of painting. The pictures he had in the gallery were simply four pictures of roughly the same bedroom and desk, with a few things moved around in each. It was only after reading the description of them did I realize that they were paintings, not photographs, and that thoroughly blew my mind but was really the only thing to stick out at the gallery.
The day ended actually rather early, around 5-6. This will hopefully allow us to recuperate a bit for tomorrow.