Constitutional Interpretation in Ireland and the Heneghan case

The question of how to interpret the Constitution has occupied the minds of Irish judges since the promulgation of the first Irish Constitution. While different approaches have been in vogue at various points over the years, the primary approach to be taken is usually accepted as being based on a textual or literal method. In fact, in recent judgments, the Supreme Court emphasised that the literal approach must always have primacy. However, in the Heneghan case, the Court seemed to develop a new approach that moves away from the strictly literal method in favour of a more flexible, harmonious approach. The case, which centres on the electoral franchise of the upper House of the Oireachtas, is significant for a number of reasons and so this article proposes to examine the judgment in order to consider how it has changed the approach to constitutional interpretation in Ireland.