Supreme Court judge Gerard Hogan said one of 'the slightly surprising things' about criticism of Article 44 of the Constitution was that the UK had tougher sectarian rules, requiring the British royal family to be 'subscribing Protestants'. Photograph: Bryan O'BrienOne day, we will have to ask if the Irish Constitution is an aid or a barrier to Irish unity, suggests Supreme Court judge Gerard Hogan. Hogan has spent a lifetime writing about the Constitution, and since 2021 has been one of the Supreme Court judges who frequently decide whether its terms have been obeyed. I’m just posing this question because, certainly, there was a lot of people in the 1970s who said, ‘Let’s do this, and that will be a precursor to the ultimate reunification.’Supreme Court judge Gerard Hogan. Posing questions about the constitutional changes people in the Republic would be prepared to make for unity, the Supreme Court judge said they “like” the 1937 document, because “it is a symbol of statehood”.

Source: The Irish Times February 09, 2026 07:45 UTC