But with the Irish now taking first place in the Áras, as new Uachtarán Catherine Connolly pledged in her inaugural speech this week, how is the quality of her caint? This F, inaudible though it was, made the word possibly future tense, or conditional, but certainly grammatically unusual. Without the F, said Dr Doyle, we have “the 1st person plural of the imperative”, which is used “very rarely”. Not “up to seven years” or “around seven years” but for seven years, barring death, removal or resignation. If Catherine Connolly serves a full term, the next inauguration will be on November 11th in 2032.
