A fun series of facts ahead of tomorrows Presidential Inauguration (especially for all the constitutional nerds out there).

Article 12.7 of Bunreacht na hÉireann states that the President-Elect shall enter the office on the day following the expiration of the term of office of his predecessor. This means that from midnight tonight until the moment in which the President-Elect swears the oath outlined under Article 12.8 and receives her Seal of Office, the Presidential Commission assumes the duties of the President.

The Presidential Commission is often referred to as the ‘collective Vice-Presidency of Ireland’. The membership and duties of the Commission are set out in Article 14. The Commission is made up of the Chief Justice, the Ceann Comhairle, and the Cathaoirleach of the Seanad. The current Commission comprises Donal O’Donnell, Verona Murphy, and Mark Daly.

Realistically, there has never been an instance in which this commission needs to execute their duties during this handover period, however there have been occasions in which they have had to assume duties, such as between when 4th President Erskine Childers died and 5th President Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh was inaugurated. Probably the most notable event of the Commission assuming the duties of the President was in 2015 when the Chief Justice Susan Denham, the Ceann Comhairle of the Dáil Seán Barrett, and Cathaoirleach of the Seanad Paddy Burke signed into law the Marriage Act 2015, which officially legalised same-sex marriage. This came as Michael D. Higgins was on a State visit to the United States.

After writing this, it does seem that maybe only constitutional nerds will read to the end.