Official standard of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland

The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (also known as the Viceroy or in the Middle Ages as the Lord Deputy) was the head of England's (pre-1707) or Britain's (post 1707) administration in Ireland.

The office was originally the central focus of English/British administration in Ireland under the Lordship of Ireland (1171-1541), the Kingdom of Ireland (1541-1800) and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801-1922). As the name suggests, the holder was in effect the King's representative; the word viceroy comes from the French vice roi or deputy king. Though earlier Lords Deputy had been Irish noblemen, from the Middle Ages, with the very odd exception, only English or British noblemen were appointed to the office. Ireland in the century prior to the Anglo-Norman invasion of 1169 is probably best described as a national kingdom lacking a settled monarchy, the kingship being disputed by three regional dynasties. ... National motto: None Capital Dublin head of state King of Ireland Kings representative: variously called Judiciar, Lord Deputy or Lord Lieutenant of Ireland head of government: Chief Secretary for Ireland Parliament: Irish House of Commons and Irish House of Lords The Kingdom of Ireland was the name given to... The Union Flag, in its modern form, was first adopted in 1801. ...

Official Residence

The official 'season' residence of the Lord Lieutenant, the Viceregal Apartments in Dublin Castle

The official residence of the Lord Lieutenant was the Viceregal Apartments in Dublin Castle. However from the late eighteenth century, the Lord Lieutenant lived for much of the year in the Viceregal Lodge (now Áras an Uachtaráin, the Irish presidential palace), a more private residence located in the Phoenix Park in Dublin. In later years, Lords Lieutenant only lived in the Castle during the 'Social Season' (early January to St. Patrick's Day, March 17), during which time they held social events; balls, drawing rooms, etc. Other summer or alternative residences used by Lord Lieutenant or Lords Deputy included Abbeyville in Kinsealy (now the home of former taoiseach Charles Haughey) and a 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 haunted. Lords Lieutenant and earlier Lords Deputy sometimes also owned property in Ireland, in which they lived rather than in state residences. The Geraldine Lords Deputy, Gearoid Mór Fitzgerald and Gearoid Óg Fitzgerald being native Irish both lived in, among other locations, their castle in Maynooth, Co. Kildare. The Earl of Essex owned Durhamstown Castle near Navan in County Meath, a short distance from the residence of the Lord Bishop of Meath at Ardbraccan. photograph of entrance to state apartments in Dublin Castle - no c/r my image File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... photograph of entrance to state apartments in Dublin Castle - no c/r my image File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Dublin Castle in Dublin, Ireland was the seat of British rule in Ireland until 1922. ... Áras an Uachtaráin is the official residence of the President of Ireland, located in the Phoenix Park on the Northside of Dublin1. ... The Phoenix Park (in Irish, Páirc an Fhionn-Uisce) is a large park near the outskirts of Dublin City, Ireland. ... St. ... March 17 is the 76th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (77th in Leap years). ... Charles (Charlie) James Haughey ( Ir. ... Maynooth (Maigh Nuad in Irish) is a town located in County Kildare, Ireland. ... Earl of Essex is a title that has been held by several families and individuals, of which the best-known and most closely associated with the title was Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex (1566 - 1601). ... -1... Ardbraccan is an ancient place of christian worship, and the location of the former residence of the Roman Catholic, then after the Reformation the Church of Ireland Bishop of Meath. ...

Role in Government

the Viceregal Lodge, the out-of-season residence of the Lord Lieutanant from the 1780s to 1922.

The Lord Lieutenant's government was not in any real way responsible to the Irish Parliament, prior to parliament's abolition thanks to the Act of Union passed in 1800. Nevertheless, he did hold a formal State Opening of Parliament, delivering his speech outlining his government policy programme from the throne on the dias in the Irish House of Lords. Áras an Uachtaráin - Irish presidential palace. ... Áras an Uachtaráin - Irish presidential palace. ... This article is about the legislature abolished in 1801. ... In the United Kingdom, the State Opening of Parliament is an annual event held usually in October or November that marks the commencement of a session of Parliament. ... The former House of Lords chamber in the Irish Parliament Building, today in use as a function room by the Bank of Ireland. ...

By the mid 19th century, the Lord Lieutenant's role changed substantially. Though still the official representative of the sovereign, the day to day role of governing fell to the Chief Secretary for Ireland, who was in effect the prime minister of the British administration in Ireland. Many nineteenth century Lords Lieutenant were not even nominally members of the British Cabinet, while the supposedly more junior Chief Secretary usually was. The Chief Secretary was the most important position for determining Ireland after the Lord Lieutenant, and was frequently a cabinet level position in the 19th and early twentieth centuries. ...

The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (also known as the Viceroy or in the Middle Ages as the Lord Deputy) was the head of England's (pre-1707) or Britain's (post 1707) administration in Ireland.

The office was originally the central focus of English/British administration in Ireland under the Lordship of Ireland (1171-1541), the Kingdom of Ireland (1541-1800) and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801-1922). As the name suggests, the holder was in effect the King's representative; the word viceroy comes from the French vice roi or deputy king. Though earlier Lords Deputy had been Irish noblemen, from the Middle Ages, with the very odd exception, only English or British noblemen were appointed to the office. Ireland in the century prior to the Anglo-Norman invasion of 1169 is probably best described as a national kingdom lacking a settled monarchy, the kingship being disputed by three regional dynasties. ... National motto: None Capital Dublin head of state King of Ireland Kings representative: variously called Judiciar, Lord Deputy or Lord Lieutenant of Ireland head of government: Chief Secretary for Ireland Parliament: Irish House of Commons and Irish House of Lords The Kingdom of Ireland was the name given to... The Union Flag, in its modern form, was first adopted in 1801. ...

Irish Attitudes towards the Lord Lieutenant

The Viceregal pew in St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin

The office of Lord Lieutenant, like the English and British government in Ireland was generally unpopular with Irish nationalists, though it was supported with varying degrees of enthusiasm by the Irish unionist community. Some Lords Lieutenants did earn a measure of popularity in a personal capacity among nationalists. From the early nineteenth century, calls were made frequently for the abolition of the office and its replacement by a Secretary of State for Ireland. Though on one occasion, a Bill was even introduced by one government to make this change, the office survived right down until the end of British rule in Ireland. picture taken 4pm. ... picture taken 4pm. ... In the Irish context, Unionists form a group of largely (though not exclusively) Protestant people in Ireland, of all social classes, who wish to see the continuation of the 1801 Act of Union, as amended by the Government of Ireland Act 1920, under which the Northern Ireland provincial state created...

Irish nationalists throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries campaigned for a form of Irish self-government. Daniel O'Connell sought Repeal of the Act of Union, with the re-establishment of a Kingdom of Ireland, while later nationalists like Charles Stewart Parnell sought a more moderate form of home rule within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Both made clear however, that the office of Lord Lieutenant could not survive in a restructured system of Irish government. for other men called Daniel OConnell, see Daniel OConnell (disambiguation) Daniel OConnell Daniel OConnell ( August 6, 1776 - May 15, 1847), known as The Liberator, was Irelands predominant politician in the first half of the nineteenth century. ... National motto: None Capital Dublin head of state King of Ireland Kings representative: variously called Judiciar, Lord Deputy or Lord Lieutenant of Ireland head of government: Chief Secretary for Ireland Parliament: Irish House of Commons and Irish House of Lords The Kingdom of Ireland was the name given to... Charles Stewart Parnell (June 27, 1846 _ October 6, 1891) was an Irish political leader and one of the most important figures in nineteenth century Ireland and the United Kingdom. ... Devolution or Home rule is the pooling of powers from central government to government at regional or local level. ...

Diana, Princess of Wales, a direct descendant of John Poyntz Spencer, 5th Earl Spencer who was Lord Lieutanant in W.E. Gladstone's ministry in the 1880s.

The last of the four Home Rule bills, the Government of Ireland Act 1920, did provide for the continuation of the office. The Act divided Ireland into two devolved entities inside the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland and 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 replaced by the Irish Free State. The powers meant to have been possessed by the Lord Lieutenant were delegated by amendment to a new Governor of Northern Ireland, while the role of representative of the Crown in the Free State went to a new southern Governor-General. The Lord Lieutenantship as a result was abolished. The text below is generated by a template, which has been proposed for deletion. ... The text below is generated by a template, which has been proposed for deletion. ... John Poyntz Spencer, 5th Earl Spencer (1835 - 1910) (known as the Red Earl because of his distinctive long red beard) was a British Liberal Party politician under and close friend of British prime minister William Ewart Gladstone. ... An Act to Provide for the Better Government of Ireland, more usually the Government of Ireland Act, 1920 (this is its official short title; the formal citation is 10 & 11 Geo. ... Devolution or Home rule is the pooling of powers from central government to government at regional or local level. ... Northern Ireland is an administrative region and one of four parts of the United Kingdom. ... Southern Ireland was the twenty-six county Irish state created in the Government of Ireland Act 1920. ... The Council of Ireland may refer to one of two councils, one proposed and one implemented for a brief period. ... Northern Ireland is an administrative region and one of four parts of the United Kingdom. ... Southern Ireland was the twenty-six county Irish state created in the Government of Ireland Act 1920. ... The Irish Free State (Irish: Saorstát Éireann) was (1922–1937) the name of the state comprising the 26 of Irelands 32 counties which were separated from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland under the Irish Free State Agreement (or Anglo-Irish Treaty) signed by British and Irish... The Governor of Northern Ireland was the Crown representative in Northern Ireland. ...

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. Dubliners noted that the last available space was taken by the last Lord Lieutenant, Viscount Fitzalan of Derwent. Fitzalan was the first Roman Catholic appointed as a representative of the Crown since the Glorious Revolution that brought William and Mary to power in 1688. Edmund Bernard Fitzalan-Howard, 1st Viscount Fitzalan of Derwent (June 1, 1855 - May 18, 1947), previously known as Lord Edmund Talbot, was the last Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and the first Roman Catholic to hold the post. ... The Glorious Revolution (1688-1689), also known as the bloodless revolution, is an event in which the Stuart king James II (James VII of Scotland) was removed from his thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland, and replaced by William of the House of Orange and his wife and joint sovereign... William III King of England, Scotland and Ireland William III and II (14 November 1650–8 March 1702; also known as William Henry and William of Orange) was Prince of Orange from his birth, King of England and Ireland from 13 February 1689, and King of Scotland from 11 April... Mary II Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland Mary II (30 April 1662–28 December 1694) was Queen of England and Ireland from 13 February 1689 until her death, and Queen of Scotland from 11 April 1689 until her death. ...

See also

• List of Lord Lieutenants of Ireland

Further Reading

• Joseph Robins, Champagne and Silver Buckles: The Viceregal Court and Dublin Castle 1700-1922 (Lillyput Press, 2001) (ISBN 1901866580)