The Standing Council of Irish Chiefs & Chieftains

The Standing Council of Irish Chiefs and Chieftains (SCICC)

(Buanchomhairle Thaoisigh Éireann)

See:  RTÉ Archives coverage of the President Mary Robinson, receiving hereditary Irish Chiefs & Chieftains in 1991 

at Áras an Uachtaráin, the official presidential residence and former vice-regal lodge in the Phoenix Park. 

The person who led the group was the late Terence Maguire "of Fermanagh" however his claim to the chieftaincy was later discredited, as was that of Terence Francis MacCarthy, in what became known as the Mac Carthy Mór hoax:

 https://www.rte.ie/archives/category/society/2016/1003/821159-chieftains-of-ireland/

A handover occurred on 5 April 2025 between The Standing Council of Irish Chiefs and Chieftains (Buanchomhairle Thaoisigh Éireann) (hereditary), and an O’Donnell, witnessed by the Clans of Ireland’s outgoing Cathaoirleach, Gearóid Ó Ceallaigh, whereby the outgoing Chair of SCICC, Donough The McGillycuddy of the Reeks, Chieftain, passed the baton to Amb. Francis M. O’Donnell, President of the O’Donnell Clan Association and President of the Genealogical Society of Ireland and so announced in plenary at the Annual General Meeting of the Clans of Ireland on 5 April 2025.  As per the Memorandum of Understanding they co-signed on 5 April at Clans of Ireland, O’Donnell will hold the SCICC documentation, files and correspondence for their "safe eventual archiving in a suitable place or institution, and in consultation with the relevant stakeholders including any other surviving authenticated and willing Chiefs of the Name and without prejudice to any eventual decision by the latter Chiefs of the Name concerned to revive the Standing Council with a new chair, or to consider it obsolete and discontinued, which decision is anticipated will likely be taken in the course of the year 2025".

The outgoing Chair, The McGillycuddy of the Reeks, also nominated O’Donnell as the representative of SCICC to the ex-officio representative tenure provided for in the Memorandum of Association between Clans of Ireland and the SCICC. In the remaining course of the year 2025, the SCICC archival documents and correspondence will be reviewed and a summary history prepared in an article for publication, which can then be shared with any surviving members and/or their heirs, in the hope to either revive the SCICC, or declare it obsolete, and to be archived where its records would be best secured, and its residual assets disposed of. Its current assets enable it to continue to co-sponsor the annual history prize for some more years. Although most of its members have already passed away, it is hoped to identify any other heirs interested.

The Standing Council of Irish Chiefs and Chieftains (Buanchomhairle Thaoisigh Éireann) was founded in 1991 to unite hereditary claimants of Gaelic nobility titles, known as Chiefs of the Name, recognized by Ireland’s Chief Herald. On October 5, 1991, sixteen of nineteen claimant chiefs were received by President Mary Robinson at Áras an Uachtaráin, marking a historic gathering to form the council, the first of its kind since the 1601 Battle of Kinsale. Maguire of Fermanagh was elected chairman, and Denis The O’Conor Don of Roscommon deputy chairman. The council aimed to promote Gaelic heritage, protect chiefly titles from misuse, and educate the public on their historical roles. It also established the annual history prize with Trinity College Dublin, later also involving Clans of Ireland.   In 1999, the Chief Herald of Ireland, the constitutional legitimacy of all or some of whose practices was in doubt, notwithstanding the National Cultural Institutions Act of 1997, and prompted also by a scandal involving inadequate due diligence in regard to fraudulent claims (notably by Terence MacCarthy, whose title was later debunked as a hoax) was advised at his request, by the Attorney General, that “there is not, and never was, any statutory or legal basis for the practice of granting courtesy recognition as chief of the name”, and in these circumstances, the Chief Herald then 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 accordingly ceased recognising any new Chiefs of the Name,  and halted succession publications in Iris Oifigiúil (the official gazette of the State).  Recognition was not intended to confer, confirm or imply any rights in law, or any special status or title of nobility or of honour. It was also held that it would be inappropriate if a decision made by the Genealogical Office/Chief Herald 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. The recognition of those previously gazetted was not however withdrawn. Notwithstanding these challenges, by 2006, Dr. Hugo Ricciardi O’Neill chaired the Standing Council, which continued limited activities, including the annual history prize. Subsequent chairs were Major-General David Nial Creagh, The O'Morchoe (1928–2019), succeeded by the late Conor Myles John, The O'Brien, 18th Baron Inchiquin (1943–2023), who served as chairman at two points. He was a founding member in 1991 and took on the chairmanship again in 2017. Upon his demise, Donough The McGillycuddy of the Reeks took over, until this year.

The annual “Irish Chiefs’ and Clans of Ireland Prize” continues conjointly funded by the Standing Council of Irish Chiefs and Chieftains, with Clans of Ireland,  in association with the History Department of Trinity College, Dublin, and History Ireland magazine. The winning essay of the 2024 Irish Chiefs and Clans of Ireland Essay Competition: “Three women of the O’Byrnes: perspectives on Gaelic political marriage in the sixteenth century”, by Cora Crampton, awarded to her at the Clans of Ireland Cultural Summit in April 2025. The prize will continue, along with its established joint sponsorship. 

Amb. O’Donnell considers his SCICC role as merely custodial, given the putative conflict of laws between traditional Brehon-based tanistry and post-Brehon primogeniture, as well as modern electoral designation of leaders of some clans' cultural revivals, and whilst an effort is made to ascertain if there are any other previously-gazetted authentic heirs of 16th century Irish Chiefs or Chieftains surviving and interested in its revival, or whether, given its origins and relative demise, it should be considered obsolete and its assets and archives safely and securely disposed of for posterity.