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GAZETTE
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1990
Notaries Public in Ireland
E. Rory O'Connor, solicitor and notary public, in his authoritive work
"The Irish Notary" commences his historical introduction with the
words "the notary public ranks among the most ancient of pro-
fessions". Edward J . Montgomery, solicitor and notary public, in
his equally authoritive manual on the Practice of Notaries Public
in Ireland states that "the practice of a notary is probably the oldest
profession in the world". As honorable lady solicitors now grace
the ranks of notaries public in Ireland such august descriptions
must be pronounced with due meaning and decorum.
The origins of the profession are power of appointment and dis-
unclear though it is accepted that
they go back to the Roman legal
system and perhaps further.
Originally they were 'scribes' who
performed duties of letter writing
for illiterates, private secretaries to
noblemen and clergymen and
keepers of records. Naturally, the
person who so reduced the spoken
word had not only to be literate but
also had to be honest as the inter-
ested parties would not be able to
check the record. These writers
were the first 'notaries' and an
analysis of the position will show
that the present notaries are still
doing the same work although they
do more in some countries than
they do in others. They were known
by many names but the present
title is derived from the Latin
'notarius publicus' and 'notatio',
meaning 'to record'. In Roman law
times the 'notarium publicus' re-
corded letters of judicial importance
as well as important private trans-
actions or events where an
authenticated record of a docu-
ment drawn up with professional
skill or knowledge was necessary
or advisable.
In the period before the Reforma-
tion the appointment of notaries
throughout western Christendom
was by the Pope who delegated his
functions to his legate, the Arch-
bishop of Canterbury. Following on
the Reformation, the power to
grant 'faculties' was, by the Irish
Statute of 28 Henry VII, c19,
assumed by the King. A Court of
Faculties was constituted and
attached to the Archbishopric of
Canterbury and later to the Arch-
bishipric of Armagh; subsequently
in 1870 transferred to the Lord
Chancellor of Ireland and eventually
in 1922 to the Chief Justice; whose
missal - and indeed, in all regu-
latory matters concerning notaries
public - was consolidated by the
Courts (Supplemental Provisions)
Act 1961.
There is a considerable distinct-
l y
Brendan Walsh*
Solicitor
ion between the work done by a
notary public and the work done by
a commissioner for oaths. The per-
son who approaches a notary
becomes the notary's client and
the notary is bound to take all
reasonable care that the docu-
ments to which he places his Seal
are true and correct; whereas a
commissioner for oaths can by law
only take an affidavit from a non-
client and accepts no personal
responsiblity for the contents of
such affidavit. Broadly speaking, a
notary's work is limited only by the
requirements of the public and by
far the larger part of a notary's
work is recording, witnessing and
certifying written records and
documents for use outside the
country. There is no absolute re-
quirement - as there is in Northern
Ireland - that an applicant for
appointment as a notary be a
solicitor but the trend has been that
way over the last few decades and
seems likely to continue, as con-
firmed by the written judgment of
Finlay C.J. on the subject delivered
on 6th October 1989.
There are at present 140 notaries
in the Republic of Ireland, of whom
50 are in the City and County of
Dublin and the rest spread more or
less evenly throughout the rest of
the country. Only four of that 140
are non-solicitors - by occupation,
respectively, a chartered secretary,
an office manager, a retired assist-
ant County Registrar and an estate
agent.
Prior to 1958 there was a loose
association of notaries of Dublin
and Wicklow organised by the late
Sean Ó hUadhaigh, solicitor. In
1958, at the behest of Chief
Justice Conor Maguire, The Faculty
of Notaries Public in Ireland ("the
Faculty") was formed to assist the
Chief Justice in notarial matters -
not simply in relation to the
appointment of notaries but in
relation to such other matters con-
cerning notaries as from time to
time the Chief Justice might have
to decide upon or regulate. On the
suggestion of Chief J us t i ce
Maguire, the then longest serving
notary, Charles Doyle, Solicitor,
Dublin, became the first Dean of
the Faculty. He was succeeded in
turn by Edward J. Montgomery,
Peter Prentice and the present
Dean, Walter Beatty. Toirleach
deValera was Registrar of the
Faculty until his appointment as
Taxing Master when he was suc-
ceeded in turn by Enda Marren and
then by the writer.
A few years ago the Faculty
formed an incorporated body - a
Company limited by guarantee - a
necessary requirement in order to
secure from the Chief Herald a
grant-of-arms.
A Notary is usually appointed for
the county where his practice is
located and also for such nearby
counties as he might need to
service; so that a solicitor practis-
ing in, for example, Mayo, when
appointed, might also be appointed
for and be entitled to practise as a
notary in counties Sligo, Ros-
common and Galway.
When a person applies to be
appointed a notary public, all of the
(•Brendan Walsh, Solicitor, 18 Herbert
Street, Dublin 2, is the Registrar of The
Faculty of Notaries Public in Ireland.]
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