Scene Release

New series of Scannal looks back at the two word phrase that brought about a constitutional crisis and led to the resignation of a President of Ireland, a phrase that would live in political infamy for decades.

The 18th of October 1976 was like any other day in the Minister for Defence’s diary. He was due to perform a routine opening of an army facility, in this case a cookhouse in Columb Barracks, Mullingar. But when Minister Paddy Donegan stood up to address the varied ranks of army personnel, his speech kicked off a constitutional crisis.

He declared, to the massed army ranks that their Supreme Commander and President of Ireland, Cearbhall Dálaigh, was a “Thundering disgrace!”