Talk:Taoiseach

Have added in a lot more information and pronounciation details. Hope this clarifies matters. User:JTD

This is little more than a dictionary entry. If I remember correctly, they term has a history going back to the Celts. Does anyone want to expand on this? John Lynch

Also, I think Gaelic words deserve some pronunciation guides, e.g., I THINK that this is pronounced tee-sach(k). Also, is the Taoiseach the head of the Dail (needs an accent mark and pronounced Dial)? JHK

Good idea. As a start I added pronounciations for Taoiseach, Dáil, and Fine Gael. My Irish is a bit rusty so if there are any gaelgeori out there, please check my attempts at English spelling of the pronounciations. --Eob

I've a sneeking suspicion my Irish is even rustier than yours ... last class (Leaving Cert!) was in 1985 ... in any case, so far you're doing fine :) John Lynch

Before 1927 the title was "President of the Executive Council", since 1932 it has been "Taoiseach". What was it called from 1927 to 1932? -- Zoe

(Zoe, dates incorrect. 1922-37 President of the Ex. Council. 1937- Taoiseach. I've corrected that and added in some more info. JTD

What is this pronounciation gobbligook? In an international encyclopædia where people have different experiences in pronounciation and different reading skills based on their experience of english, this stuff is absolutely useless and should only be used in contents where there is a shared degree of comprehension and communication skills, ie, in academic sourcebooks or in national textbooks where a clear shared standard exists. By definition it cannot on something as big. complex and lingustically diverse as wikipedia. FearÉIREANN 19:11, 18 Oct 2003 (UTC)

President?

The article refers to the "president" of Ireland. I believe the proper term is "Uachtaran", not "president". Eamon de Valera himself used to refer to the office of taoiseach as "president" when he was in America, and "prime minister" in England... which goes to prove that the terms are not complete synonyms. --146.176.60.143

If nobody minds, I'm removeing the line about it being like Prime Minster because there are genuine differences between the two offices. --83.70.154.81

For Ireland, the president (Uachtarán) is much more of a head of state position for the country. For example, the president cannot visit other countries on official business without permission from the government. Other presidential duties are very limited.

I think de Valera was correct, he used country specific terms. In England the prime minister is the centre of power, while in America (to some extent) the president is. This is one of the reasons for the title of Brian Farrell's book, Chairman or Chief.

Use in Irish

Is Taoiseach treated as a title in Irish or just the term for "Prime Minister"? And if it is a title, what term is used when talking about prime ministers from other countries? (Similarly how is Tánaiste used?) Timrollpickering 18:10, 28 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I am not too sure if this is the answer to your question. Taoiseach is used exclusively for the Prime Minister of Ireland and not other countries I suspect. Prime Minister would be Príomh Aire but I am not sure if this is used in Irish today as a generic title. Djegan 18:18, 28 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

It's not a title, just a term. It's used only to refer to heads of government in the Republic of Ireland; "príomh aire" (príomh = prime, aire=minister) is used translate "prime minister" when talking about foreign heads of government e.g. [1] [2]. Demiurge 18:25, 28 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I can find four usages of the term (príomh aire) in the Oireachtas since 1990. Djegan 18:30, 28 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Am i correct in thinking that referring to the Taoiseach as the "Irish Prime Minister" is technically incorrect and that the appropriate translation into English is the "Head of the Irish Government?" (Leninbenjamin 18:18, 18 April 2006 (UTC))[reply]