Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
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Lord Lieutenant of Ireland | |
---|---|
Privy Council of the United Kingdom[citation needed] | |
Residence | Dublin Castle |
Appointer | Lord of Ireland Monarch of Ireland Monarch of the United Kingdom |
Term length | At the Sovereign's pleasure |
Formation | 1171 |
Final holder | The Viscount FitzAlan of Derwent |
Abolished | 8 December 1922[1] |
Succession | Governor of Northern Ireland and Governor-General of the Irish Free State |
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (
Role
The Lord Lieutenant possessed a number of overlapping roles.[citation needed] He was
- the representative of the King (the "viceroy");
- the head of the executive in Ireland;
- (on occasion) a member of the English or British Cabinet;
- the fount of mercy, justice and patronage;
- (on occasion) commander-in-chief in Ireland.
- Grand Master of the Order of St. Patrick
Prior to the
Constitutional structure
The Lord Lieutenant was advised in the governance by the
- constitutional monarch.
- Under-Secretary for Ireland: The head of the civil service in Ireland.
- Primate of All Ireland.[4]
Lords Lieutenant were appointed for no set term but served for "His/Her Majesty's pleasure" (in reality, as long as wished by the British government). When a ministry fell, the Lord Lieutenant was usually replaced by a supporter of the new ministry.
Officeholders
Until the 16th century,
Although it was the faith of the overwhelming majority on the island of Ireland,
Until 1767 Lords Lieutenant did not live full-time in Ireland. Instead they resided in Ireland during meetings of the Irish Parliament (a number of months every two years). However the British cabinet decided in 1765 that full-time residency should be required to enable the Lord Lieutenant to keep a full-time eye on public affairs in Ireland.[4]
Importance of the post
The post ebbed and flowed in importance, being used on occasion as a form of exile for prominent British politicians who had fallen afoul of the
By the mid-to-late 19th century the post had declined from being a powerful political office to that of being a symbolic quasi-monarchical figure who reigned, not ruled, over the Irish administration. Instead it was the Chief Secretary for Ireland who became central, with him, not the Lord Lieutenant, sitting on occasion in the British cabinet.
Official residence
The official residence of the Lord Lieutenant was the Viceregal Apartments in
The decision to require the Lord Lieutenant to live full-time in Ireland necessitated a change in living arrangements. As the location of the Viceregal Court, the Privy Council and of various governmental offices, Dublin Castle became a less than desirable full-time residence for the viceroy, vicereine and their family. In 1781 the British government bought the former ranger's house in Phoenix Park to act as a personal residence for the Lord Lieutenant. The building was rebuilt and named the Viceregal Lodge. It was not however until major renovations in the 1820s that the Lodge came to be used regularly by viceroys.[4] It is now known as Áras an Uachtaráin and is the residence of the President of Ireland.
By the mid-19th century, Lords Lieutenant lived in the Castle only during the
Irish attitudes
The office of Lord Lieutenant, like the British government in Ireland, was greatly resented by some
Irish nationalists throughout the 19th century and early 20th century campaigned for a form of Irish self-government.
Abolition
The
See also
- Constitution of 1782
- Governor of Northern Ireland
- Governor-General of the Irish Free State
- Dublin Castle administration in Ireland
- Monarchy of Ireland
- Penal Laws
- Poynings' Law (on certification of acts)
- Viceregal throne (Ireland)
References
Footnotes
Citations
- ^ a b Quekett, Arthur S. "Irish Free State (Consequential Provisions) Act, 1922". The Constitution Of Northern Ireland. Vol. Part II: The Government of Ireland Act, 1920 and Subsequent Enactments. Belfast: His Majesty's Stationery Office for the Government of Northern Ireland. p. 196 [s.1(2) fn.[2]. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland went out of office on 8th December, 1922, and the appointment of a Governor of Northern Ireland by virtue of the First Schedule to this Act was first made on the following day.
- ^ "Enforcement of Law (Occasional Powers) Act, 1923". Acts of the Oireachtas [with official Irish translation] (in English and Irish). Oireachtas. Archived from the original on 16 December 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
- ^ a b "Lord Lieutenant". Téarma.ie (in Irish and English). Retrieved 24 March 2020.
- ^ ISBN 1-901866-58-0
- ^ Walpole, Spencer (1889). The Life of Lord John Russell. Vol. II. London: Longmans, Green & Co. pp. 86–87.
Sources
Further reading
- Rachel Wilson, 'The Vicereines of Ireland and the Transformation of the Dublin Court, c. 1703–1737' in The Court Historian, xix, no. 1 (2014), pp 3–28.