Editing Lord Lieutenant of Ireland

{{Short description|Title of the chief governor of Ireland from 1690 to 1922}}
{{For|list|List of chief governors of Ireland}}
{{more citations needed|date=January 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox political post
|post            = Lord Lieutenant
|body            = Ireland
|nativename      =
|insignia        = Flag of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.svg
|insigniasize    = 200px
|insigniacaption = Standard of the Lord Lieutenant from 1801 onward.
|department      =
|image           = 
|alt             =
|style           = [[The Right Honourable]]<br/><small>as a member of the [[Privy Council of the United Kingdom]]{{citation needed|date=February 2020}}</small>
|residence       = [[Dublin Castle]]
|nominator       =
|nominatorpost   =
|appointer       = [[Lordship of Ireland|Lord of Ireland]]<br>[[Kingdom of Ireland|Monarch of Ireland]]<br>[[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|Monarch of the United Kingdom]]
|appointerpost   =
|termlength      = At the Sovereign's pleasure
|inaugural       =
|formation       = 1171
|last            = [[Edmund FitzAlan-Howard, 1st Viscount FitzAlan of Derwent|The Viscount FitzAlan of Derwent]]
|abolished       = 8 December 1922<ref name="Quekett196">{{cite book |last1=Quekett |first1=Arthur S. |title=The Constitution Of Northern Ireland |volume=Part II: The Government of Ireland Act, 1920 and Subsequent Enactments |publisher=His Majesty's Stationery Office for the Government of Northern Ireland |location=Belfast |page=196 [s.1(2) fn.[2] |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.277022/page/n241/mode/1up |access-date=24 March 2020 |chapter=Irish Free State (Consequential Provisions) Act, 1922 |quote=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.}}</ref>
|succession      = [[Governor of Northern Ireland]] and [[Governor-General of the Irish Free State]]
|deputy          =
}}

'''Lord Lieutenant of Ireland''' ({{IPAc-en|UK|l|ɛ|f|ˈ|t|ɛ|n|ə|n|t}}{{#tag:ref|
Irish translations of the title include {{lang|ga|Fear Ionad}},<ref>{{cite web |title=Enforcement of Law (Occasional Powers) Act, 1923 |url=http://www.acts.ie/framed/1923.act.004.00.frameset.html |website=Acts of the Oireachtas [with official Irish translation] |publisher=Oireachtas |access-date=24 March 2020 |language=en, ga |archive-date=16 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171216173719/http://acts.ie/framed/1923.act.004.00.frameset.html |url-status=live }}</ref> {{lang|ga|Fear Ionaid an Rí}},<ref name="tearma"/> or {{lang|ga|Ard-Leifteanant}}.<ref name="tearma">{{cite web |title=Lord Lieutenant |url=https://www.tearma.ie/q/Lord%20Lieutenant/ |website=Téarma.ie |access-date=24 March 2020 |language=Irish,en}}</ref>
|group="n"|name="lang-ga"}}), or more formally '''Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland''', was the title of the [[chief governor of Ireland]] from the [[Williamite Wars]] of [[1690 in Ireland|1690]] until the [[Partition of Ireland]] in 1922. This spanned the [[Kingdom of Ireland]] (1541–1800) and the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland]] (1801–1922). The office, under its various names, was often more generally known as the '''[[Viceroy]]''', and his wife was known as the [[vicereine]].<ref group="n" name="lang-ga"/> The government of Ireland in practice was usually in the hands of the [[Lord Deputy of Ireland|Lord Deputy]] up to the 17th century, and later of the [[Chief Secretary for Ireland]].

==Role==
[[File:Lord Dudley, Grand Master of the Order of St. Patrick.jpg|thumb|right| The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland was the ''ex officio'' Grand Master of the [[Order of St Patrick]] (uniform shown here worn by [[William Ward, 2nd Earl of Dudley]], Lord Lieutenant from 1902 to 1905).]]
The Lord Lieutenant possessed a number of overlapping roles.{{citation needed|date=January 2018}} 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 [[Act of Union 1800]] which abolished the Irish parliament, the Lord Lieutenant formally delivered the [[Speech from the Throne]] outlining his Government's policies. His Government exercised effective control of parliament through the extensive exercise of the powers of patronage, namely the awarding of [[peerage]]s, [[baronet]]cies and state honours. Critics accused successive viceroys of using their patronage power as a corrupt means of controlling parliament. On one day in July 1777, [[John Hobart, 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire|Lord Buckinghamshire]] as Lord Lieutenant promoted 5 [[viscount]]s to [[earl]]s, 7 [[baron]]s to viscounts, and created 18 new barons.<ref name=Robins66 />{{rp|66}} The power of patronage was used to bribe MPs and peers into supporting the [[Act of Union 1800]], with many of those who changed sides and supported the Union in [[Parliament of Ireland|Parliament]] awarded peerages and honours for doing so.

==Constitutional structure==
The Lord Lieutenant was advised in the governance by the [[Irish Privy Council]], a body of appointed figures and hereditary title holders, which met in the Council Chamber in Dublin Castle and on occasion in other locations. The chief constitutional figures in the viceregal court were:

* [[Chief Secretary for Ireland]]: From 1660, originally the chief administrator, but by the end of the 19th century effectively the prime minister in the administration, with the Lord Lieutenant becoming a form of [[constitutional monarch]].
* [[Under-Secretary for Ireland]]: The head of the civil service in Ireland.
* [[Lord Justices (Ireland)|Lord Justices]]: Three office-holders who acted in the Lord Lieutenant's stead during his absence. The Lord Justices were before 1800 the [[Lord Chancellor of Ireland]], the Speaker of the [[Irish House of Commons]], and the [[Church of Ireland]] [[Archbishop of Armagh (Church of Ireland)|Archbishop of Armagh]] as [[Primate of All Ireland]].<ref name=Robins66 />

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 (collective executive)|ministry]] fell, the Lord Lieutenant was usually replaced by a supporter of the new ministry.

==Officeholders==
{{main|List of Lords Lieutenant of Ireland}}
Until the 16th century, [[Anglo-Irish]] noblemen such as the [[Gerald FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare|8th Earl of Kildare]] and the [[Gerald FitzGerald, 9th Earl of Kildare|9th Earl of Kildare]] traditionally held the post of Justiciar or Lord Deputy. From the Tudor reconquest of Ireland the post was increasingly given to Englishmen, whose loyalty to the Crown was not doubted.

Although it was the faith of the overwhelming majority on the island of Ireland, [[Roman Catholics]] were excluded being able to hold the office from [[Glorious Revolution]] in 1688 until the [[Government of Ireland Act 1920]].

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.<ref name= Robins66 >Joseph Robins, ''Champagne and Silver Buckles: The Viceregal Court at Dublin Castle 1700–1922'' p.56 (Lillyput Press, 2001) {{ISBN|1-901866-58-0}}</ref>

==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.

==Official residence==
[[File:Dcastlemaindoor.jpg|thumb|190px|right|The Viceregal Apartments in Dublin Castle – the official 'season' residence of the Lord Lieutenant]]

The official residence of the Lord Lieutenant was the Viceregal Apartments in [[Dublin Castle]], where the Viceregal Court was based. Other summer or alternative residences used by Lord Lieutenant or Lords Deputy included [[Abbeville, Dublin|Abbeville]] in [[Kinsealy]], [[Chapelizod House]], in which the Lord Lieutenant lived while Dublin Castle was being rebuilt following a fire but which he left due to the building being supposedly haunted, [[Leixlip|Leixlip Castle]] and [[Celbridge#St Wolstan's|St. Wolstan's]] in [[Celbridge]].<ref name=Robins66/> The Geraldine Lords Deputy, the [[Gerald FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare|8th Earl of Kildare]] and the [[Gerald FitzGerald, 9th Earl of Kildare|9th Earl of Kildare]], being native Irish, both lived in, among other locations, their castle in [[Maynooth]], [[County Kildare]]. [[Arthur Capell, 1st Earl of Essex|Lord Essex]] owned{{citation needed|date=July 2015}} [[Durhamstown Castle]] near [[Navan]] in [[County Meath]], a short distance from the residence of the [[Lord Bishop of Meath]] at [[Ardbraccan House]].

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.<ref name=Robins66/> 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 Social Season|Social Season]] (early January to [[St. Patrick's Day]], 17 March), during which time they held social events; balls, drawing rooms, etc. By tradition the coat of arms of each Lord Lieutenant was displayed somewhere in the Chapel Royal in Dublin Castle; some were incorporated into stained glass windows, some carved into seating, etc.

==Irish attitudes==
[[File:presidentspew.jpg|left|thumb|The Viceregal [[wikt:pew|pew]] in [[St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin]]]]
The office of Lord Lieutenant, like the British government in Ireland, was greatly resented by some [[Irish nationalist]]s, though it was supported with varying degrees of enthusiasm by the minority Irish [[Unionists (Ireland)|unionist]] community. Some Lords Lieutenant did earn a measure of popularity in a personal capacity among nationalists. From the early 19th century, calls were made frequently for the abolition of the office and its replacement by a "[[Secretary of State]] for Ireland". A bill to effect this change was introduced in Parliament in 1850 by the government of [[Lord John Russell]] but was subsequently withdrawn when it became clear that it would receive insufficient support to pass.<ref name="TM">{{cite book|last1=Walpole|first1=Spencer|title=The Life of Lord John Russell |volume= II|date=1889|publisher=Longmans, Green & Co|location=London|url=https://archive.org/details/lifelordjohnrus02walpgoog|pages=86–87}}</ref> The office survived until the establishment of the [[Irish Free State]] in 1922.

Irish nationalists throughout the 19th century and early 20th century campaigned for a form of Irish self-government. [[Daniel O'Connell]] sought [[repeal]] of the Act of Union, while later nationalists such as [[Charles Stewart Parnell]] sought a lesser measure, known as [[home rule]]. All four [[Irish Home Rule bills|Home Rule bills]] provided for the continuation of the office.

==Abolition==
The [[Government of Ireland Act 1920]] divided Ireland into two [[devolution|devolved]] entities inside the [[United Kingdom]], [[Northern Ireland]] and [[Southern Ireland (1921–22)|Southern Ireland]]. Two institutions were meant to join the two; a [[Council of Ireland]] (which was hoped would evolve into a working all-Ireland parliament) and the Lord Lieutenant who would be the nominal chief executive of both regimes, appointing both prime ministers and dissolving both parliaments. In fact only Northern Ireland functioned, with Southern Ireland being quickly replaced by the [[Irish Free State]] with [[Governor-General of the Irish Free State|its own Governor-General]]. The [[Irish Free State (Consequential Provisions) Act 1922]] provided that, once the [[Parliament of Northern Ireland]] opted out of the Free State, the office of Lord Lieutenant of Ireland would be abolished and its residual powers transferred to the new position of [[Governor of Northern Ireland]]. This duly happened on 8 December 1922, two days after the [[Constitution of the Irish Free State|Free State Constitution]] came into force.<ref name="Quekett196"/>

==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 (Ireland)|Penal Laws]]
* [[Poynings' Law (on certification of acts)]]
* [[Viceregal throne (Ireland)]]

==References==
===Footnotes===
{{Reflist|group="n"}}

===Citations===
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
* [[Government of Ireland Act 1920]]

==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.

==External links==
{{Commons category|Lords Lieutenant of Ireland}}

{{Dublin Castle administration}}

[[Category:Lords Lieutenant of Ireland| ]]
[[Category:Former lieutenancies of Ireland|*]]
[[Category:Political office-holders in pre-partition Ireland]]