Laws of Succession to the Headship of the Irish Royal House

I. ​The King of Ireland must be from an agnatic, non-morganatic lineage in the kingly line.

1. In this case, a non-morganatic marriage would be a marriage to a person who either:

   1. Is of royal, noble, imperial, or knightly heritage;

   2. Is of considerable Celtic heritage (at least 33%);

   3. Is in possession of a Celtic maiden surname by blood;

   4. Is any combination of these three above requirements.

2. An agnatic lineage is descent in the direct male-line from a previous king.

   1. Succession can pass to the closest line that is separated by the ruling house by one female generation in the event of the entire ruling house dying out in the male line. This happened in 1904 when King Ruaidhrí VII, the last king from the House of Ó Conchobhair, died and King Seán VI, first king of the House of Mac Bréifneach, became king as the closest living relative.

3. Morganatic children and their descendants are not excluded from succession or any other rights, but non-morganatic children and their descendants take precedence over their morganatic counterparts.

4. A majority vote of the Irish Rite combined with a majority vote from the Society of Ancient Irish Religion can overturn a marriage’s or child’s status as morganatic if they see fit, with approval of the Lord High Steward and Lord Great Chamberlain.

II. The King of Ireland must at least be conversational in Gaeilge.

1. If the most suitable claimant is not, then he has a year to become so. The Association must provide a tutor.

III. The King of Ireland must not be deaf, blind, mute, deformed, or missing body parts.

IV. The King of Ireland must not be mentally unfit for rule.

1. Mentally unfit for rule refers to several things:

   1. Unnecessarily uneducated;

   2. Mentally handicapped (autistic, schizophrenic, and that ilk);

   3. Overly lazy;

   4. Excessively greedy;

   5. Has any disease inhibiting their mental capacity.

2. A third party must be employed to professionally examine potential heirs to see if they are mentally fit or unfit to rule.

V. The King of Ireland must be willing to defend the Irish people with his own hands.

VI. The King of Ireland must be a descendant of King Ruaidrí I.

VII. The King of Ireland must have enough fortitude to not become a puppet.

VIII. If ever there is an interregnum, the King of Ireland’s heir shall be decided based on non-morganatic, agnatic primogeniture, as stipulated above.

IX. Each and every King of Ireland can choose whether to have his heir be decided by tanistry or primogeniture.

1. If the king chooses primogeniture, but dies before the heir reaches eighteen years of age, two regents will be put in place.

   1. The regents must be a prince-regent and appointed regent, both appointed by the previous king.

   2. Parents and siblings of the young king are never to be regents.

2. If the king chooses tanistry, he must choose his heir during his lifetime.

   1. If the king fails to choose an heir in his lifetime, then the derbhfine must assemble and elect a new king from among them.

   2. The derbhfine is the collective of all the men who descend in the male-line from the male-line great-grandfather of the King of Ireland.

   3. If no suitable heir can be found in the derbhfine, then look to the iarfine, common male-line descendants of the king’s great-great-grandfather.

3. Regardless of what system of succession the king chooses, the heir in question must meet the other requirements. If they do not, then the succession skips over them.

X. The Irish Kingship may be inherited by a female member of the royal house, if the previous king chose her as his heir through tanistry.

1. The Queen’s husband, children, and descendants will not be eligible to accede the throne.

XI. A member of the Royal House is eligible for the Throne regardless of religious beliefs and sexual orientation.

XII. The King of Ireland must be equally accepting of Christians and Irish druids.

XIII. Illegitimate sons and their descendants are still eligible to inherit the kingship if they meet the other requirements.

1. They will not be considered morganatic if their mother meets the above requirements in Article I Section A.

2. Regardless of the status of their partner or children, the parent who is not connected to the Royal House cannot take their gender’s equivalent to the title held by the parent that is related to the Royal House. if they have not married into the family.

XIV. The King of Ireland must never be willing to surrender Ireland to any foreigner, not even to spare his own life.

XV. When the royal house is faced with extinction, it is better to let an heir who violates one or more of these rules become king, and it is preferable to having the title leave the house.

1. This should only be considered as a last resort.

2. Premature use of Article XV will result in the one who employed it being barred from future succession.

XVI. The King of Ireland must be knowledgeable and learned on the topic of Brehon law and the laws of the Republic of Ireland.

XVII. The king’s heir is called Tánaiste in both English and Gaeilge.

XVIII. Anybody whose father, paternal grandfather, or patrilineal great-grandfather was King of Ireland is entitled to the style of His Royal Highness and the title of Prince, regardless of their status as legitimate, illegitimate, or morganatic.

1. Women who fit the criteria will be entitled to the style of Her Royal Highness and the title of Princess.

XIX. The King must not be associated with any political parties.

1. A prince will not be barred from succession if political parties support him, as long as there is no evidence of foul play.

2. The other members of the Royal House that are not in the derbhfine will investigate each potential heir to be sure of this.

XX. Other members of the Royal House are not required to seek the king’s approval for their marriage.

XXI. Any possible successor is required to meet several academic standards of extremely thorough knowledge of Irish culture, religion, and history, as well as accurate knowledge of current events and history, and being able to work under extreme pressure.

1. Written tests, essays, and subtle situational testing should all be employed for ensuring the fitness of a future ruler.