Editing Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (section)

==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 [[Court of St. James's]] or [[Her Majesty's Government|Westminster]]. On other occasions it was a stepping stone to a future career. Two Lords Lieutenant, [[William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire|Lord Hartington]] and the [[William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland|Duke of Portland]], went from [[Dublin Castle]] to [[10 Downing Street]] as [[Prime Minister of Great Britain]], in 1756 and 1783 respectively.

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.