In 1978, conservative TD Oliver J Flanagan adopted the title 'Sir Oliver' after receiving a papal honour, the Knighthood of St Gregory. This sparked a debate within the Irish government regarding the acceptance of foreign honours by Irish citizens, particularly those bestowed by the Catholic Church. While the government had previously approved the acceptance of British honours by Irish citizens, the constitution raised questions about the acceptance of papal honours.
Oliver J Flanagan, a conservative Fine Gael TD who once noted there was 'no sex in Ireland before television', decided to style himself 'Sir Oliver' after a papal honour in 1978. Photograph: Peter Thursfield/The Irish TimesTD Oliver J Flanagan’s insistence on calling himself “Sir Oliver” was not accepted by the Irish government of the time.
Those who are knighted in the UK usually carry the honorific “sir”, but the Catholic Church confirmed there was no precedent for papal knights to use the style. They advised that the matter be checked with the Department of Foreign Affairs and, if it came under that section of the Constitution, the issue should then be taken up with Mr Flanagan.
A memo five days earlier to then-taoiseach Liam Cosgrave noted, somewhat dryly, that the honour shouldn’t appreciably change references to the Earl of Rosse. In the recordings of former taoiseach Seán Lemass first made public in 2018, he described Princess Margaret’s visits as a “headache”. He had no intention of stopping her from coming, but neither was he going to encourage her “not for any reason other than recognition that we were going to have a security problem on our hands when she was here.
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