ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to assess the Irish pattern of government composition in the light of general research findings relating to two perspectives. It trends in the evolution of the overall composition of this formally dominant portion of the political elite. The chapter deals with the strategies used by heads of government in selecting a team of ministers charged with the fulfilment of important executive, policymaking and other political tasks. The radical nature of the political break in 1922 is illustrated strikingly in the comparison of the political elites before and after this date. Specifically, one may compare the ninety-four-member Privy Council of 1922 with the set of government ministers appointed from independence until 1982. The general characteristics of the Irish ministerial elite as described above suggest a pattern not dissimilar to those of other Western democracies. The general pattern is itself essentially a cumulation of a series of appointments by incoming prime ministers.
