Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 13 June 2013
170. Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Defence the number of times in the past nine years that a full or partial ceremonial guard of honour was afforded to the President of Ireland; and if he will list the occasions when these guards of honour within that timeframe were formed. [28765/13]
View answerDefence Force Regulations provide that ceremonial Guards of Honour may be deployed to render honours to the President, on his/her arrival at, or departure from, State or Military ceremonies, or for ceremonies considered to be of a distinctive national character. A definitive record of all occasions when the President was afforded a Guard of Honour in the past nine years is not kept by my Department. However, the Defence Forces have provided a full ceremonial Guard of Honour in each of these years when the President has attended the following annual State ceremonies: the Easter Sunday 1916 Commemoration at the GPO; 1916 Arbour Hill Commemoration Ceremony; National Day of Commemoration; the National Famine Memorial Day (since 2009). Guards of Honour have also been provided by the Defence Forces to the President at other events of major national significance, for example, the Titanic commemorations in Cobh in 2012. The President is also afforded a Guard of Honour on departing the country for a State Visit and on his/her return.
