European court dismisses challenge over presidential oath to ‘almighty God’

The wording of the Irish presidential oath requires the president to swear to “almighty God” when taking office.

The European Court of Human Rights has found against a number of politicians and public figures, who had challenged the wording of the Irish presidential oath that requires the president to swear to “almighty God” when taking office.

In its finding today, the court ruled that the case was “inadmissible”, and found that the applicants “had failed to provide reasonable and convincing evidence that they were at risk of being directly affected by these requirements and so could not claim to be victims of a violation of the Convention”.