Termination of the system of Courtesy Recognition as
Chief of the Name

• there is not, and never was, any statutory or legal basis for the practice of granting courtesy recognition as chief of the name
• in the absence of an appropriate basis in law, the practice of granting courtesy recognition should not be continued by the Genealogical Office; and
• even if a sound legal basis for the system existed, it would not be permissible to review and reverse decisions made by a previous Chief Herald except in particular situations, for example, where decisions were based on statements or documents which were clearly false or misleading in material respects.

In these circumstances, the Chief Herald has decided, in agreement with the Council of Trustees of the National Library and the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, that the practice of granting courtesy recognition as chief of the name should be discontinued and that no further action should be taken in relation to the applications on hands for courtesy recognition, or in relation to the review which had been initiated of certain cases in which recognition was granted in the years 1989-95.

Courtesy recognition was intended to amount to nothing more thatn the recognition of a genealogical fact (ie that the individual concerned was the most senior known male descendant of the last inaugurated or de facto chief of a particular name in power around the end of the sixteenth century, and was not intended to confer, confirm or imply any rights in law, or any special status or title of nobility or of honour. It is recognized, however, that the decision to end the courtesy recognition system may create difficulties for those who, in common with generations of their ancestors have used, and have been known over the years by, particular chiefly designations which were a matter of public record and acceptance long before any intervention or recognition by the Genealogical Office. It would be regrettable if such difficulties were to arise, particularly in those cases where recognition by the Genealogical Office dates from the 1940s and where entitlement to recognition has never been seriously questioned. It is not intended that the ending of the courtesy recognition system shoud be seen to reflect in any way on these or, indeed, on any other individuals. On the other hand, it would be inappropriate if a decision made by the Genealogical Office in the past in relation to courtesy recognition were henceforth to be relied on as the sole basis for use of any particular chiefly designation.

Ref: The Office of The Chief Herald of Ireland, 2001