'Red hat' for new cardinal could mean red faces for Government

Seán B. Cardinal Brady

Function: Archbishop of Armagh

Title:

Birthdate: Aug 16, 1939	Country: Ireland

Elevated: Nov 24, 2007	More information:

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'Red hat' for new cardinal could mean red faces for Government
Oct 21, 2007
The 'red hat' for cardinal-elect Sean Brady could lead to a diplomatic incident for the Irish Government.

(independent.ie, October 21 2007) By tradition, a newly-crowned cardinal gets an official 'coat of arms' from the Government. But the suspension of Ireland's heraldic services over doubts about its legitimacy, has created the scenario where, if the new cardinal is to secure a coat of arms "he must either wait or apply to the queen of a foreign jurisdiction in London", according to one expert.

However, Michael Merrigan, head of the Irish Genealogical Society, has taken it upon himself to facilitate an intriguing solution.

Merrigan has written to the DUP Northern Ireland Minister for Culture, Edwin Poots, with the suggestion that Northern Ireland should petition Queen Elizabeth II for the granting of a royal warrant to devolve heraldic services to the Northern Assembly. The Northern Ireland Assembly could then ratify the new cardinal's coat of arms.

Such a decision would mean that if a Northern Irish heraldic officer, such as the Speaker in the Assembly acquired such powers, Irish sensitivities would be spared the spectacle of seeing an Irish cardinal having to acquire his coat of arms from our former colonial masters.

Speaking to the Sunday Independent, Merrigan was deeply critical of the failure of Ceann Comhairle John O'Donoghue, for failing to deal with this issue when he was minister. The head of the Irish Genealogical Society also urged Seamus Brennan to restore the society's proposal to the Seanad's Order Paper, so we could be spared any future "embarrassing questions about thelegitimacy of the coats of arms borne by everyone from cardinals to the gardai to Mary Mc Aleese".

For now, when it comes to the great issue of supplying the cardinal with a fine new coat of arms, Ireland is depending on the charity of a minister from a party led by Dr Ian Paisley -- a man who has built a career out of enmity with 'old red socks' in Rome.

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