The chief governor was the senior official in the
Dublin Castle administration, which maintained English and
British rule in Ireland from the 1170s to 1922. The chief governor was the
viceroy
A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...
of the
English monarch (and later the
British monarch
The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional monarchy, constitutional form of government by which a hereditary monarchy, hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United ...
) and presided over the
Privy Council of Ireland
His or Her Majesty's Privy Council in Ireland, commonly called the Privy Council of Ireland, Irish Privy Council, or in earlier centuries the Irish Council, was the institution within the Dublin Castle administration which exercised formal executi ...
. In some periods he was in effective charge of the administration, subject only to the monarch in England; in others he was a
figurehead
In politics, a figurehead is a person who ''de jure'' (in name or by law) appears to hold an important and often supremely powerful title or office, yet ''de facto'' (in reality) exercises little to no actual power. This usually means that they ...
and power was wielded by others.
Nomenclature
"Chief governor" is an
umbrella term
In linguistics, semantics, general semantics, and ontologies, hyponymy () is a semantic relation between a hyponym denoting a subtype and a hypernym or hyperonym (sometimes called umbrella term or blanket term) denoting a supertype. In other ...
favoured by eighteenth-century historians
Walter Harris and
John Lodge and subsequently used by many historians and statutes. It was occasionally used before then. Chief governors were appointed under various titles, the most common of which were:
* (Chief) justiciar (13th–14th centuries)
* (King's) lieutenant (14th–16th century)
*
Lord Deputy (15th–17th centuries)
*
Lord Lieutenant (1660–1922) more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor or Lieutenant-General and Governor-General and colloquially called the Viceroy.
Less common titles include ''procurator'' and ''gubernator'', and the temporary title ''
custos'' or keeper.
Sometimes individuals with different titles served simultaneously, in which case the
order of precedence
An order of precedence is a sequential hierarchy of nominal importance and can be applied to individuals, groups, or organizations. Most often it is used in the context of people by many organizations and governments, for very formal and state o ...
was: lieutenant > justiciar > custos > deputy (lieutenant) > deputy justiciar. The title "Deputy", and later "Lord Deputy", was originally applied to the resident deputy of a non-resident king's lieutenant, when the latter title was an honour bestowed on a favoured English noble. Latterly, such resident deputies were called
Lord Justices.
Statute Law Revision Acts passed in the 1890s trimmed formulas such as "the Lord Lieutenant or other Chief Governor or Governors of Ireland" from older
acts of parliament
Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of parliament ...
, standardising to "the Lord Lieutenant".
History
In
Norman Ireland as in England, a
chief justiciar combined executive and judicial functions. The judicial office of
Lord Chief Justice of Ireland
The Court of King's Bench (or Court of Queen's Bench during the reign of a Queen) was one of the senior courts of common law in Ireland. It was a mirror of the Court of King's Bench in England. The Lord Chief Justice was the most senior judge ...
later separated from that of the chief governor. In the fifteenth century, chief governors, especially the
Earls of Kildare, began taking initiatives in the
Parliament of Ireland
The Parliament of Ireland ( ga, Parlaimint na hÉireann) was the legislature of the Lordship of Ireland, and later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1297 until 1800. It was modelled on the Parliament of England and from 1537 comprised two cham ...
contrary to the wishes of the English court. This prompted the passing of
Poynings' Law in 1495 to make Irish laws subject to amendment and veto by the
Privy Council of England. From 1569 to 1672, much of the land was under
martial law
Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory.
Use
Marti ...
and the Lord Deputy had regional deputies in the
Lord President of Munster and
Lord President of Connaught. From the
Williamite Wars till the
Constitution of 1782
The Constitution of 1782 was a group of Acts passed by the Parliament of Ireland and the Parliament of Great Britain in 1782–83 which increased the legislative and judicial independence of the Kingdom of Ireland by reducing the ability of t ...
, the Lord Lieutenant was a British noble who came to Ireland only every two years, when Parliament was in session; his main role was to steer legislation through Parliament. Three ''ex-officio''
Lords Justices deputised in the Lord Lieutenant's absences. In 1757 the Earl of Kildare (later
1st Duke of Leinster
Lieutenant-General James FitzGerald, 1st Duke of Leinster, PC (Ire) (29 May 1722 – 19 November 1773), styled Lord Offaly until 1743 and known as The Earl of Kildare between 1743 and 1761 and as The Marquess of Kildare between 1761 and 176 ...
) was one of the Lords Justices and hoped to be made sole Lord Deputy, but was rebuffed.
After the
Acts of Union 1800
The Acts of Union 1800 (sometimes incorrectly referred to as a single 'Act of Union 1801') were parallel acts of the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Ireland which united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ire ...
, the Parliament was abolished and political administration was done by the
Chief Secretary for Ireland. The role of Lord Lieutenant (or
Viceroy
A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...
) was ceremonial and there were calls for it to be abolished. He resided in the
Viceregal Lodge throughout his term, but no Irishman was appointed till
Viscount FitzAlan in the office's final year. During the
Irish War of Independence
The Irish War of Independence () or Anglo-Irish War was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and United Kingdom of Gre ...
,
Lord French
Field Marshal John Denton Pinkstone French, 1st Earl of Ypres, (28 September 1852 – 22 May 1925), known as Sir John French from 1901 to 1916, and as The Viscount French between 1916 and 1922, was a senior British Army officer. Born in Kent to ...
attempted to maintain a more activist role, but was rebuffed. The
Government of Ireland Act 1920
The Government of Ireland Act 1920 (10 & 11 Geo. 5 c. 67) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act's long title was "An Act to provide for the better government of Ireland"; it is also known as the Fourth Home Rule Bill ...
created
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. North ...
and
Southern Ireland but retained a single Lord Lieutenant for both. When the
Irish Free State
The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independ ...
replaced Southern Ireland in December 1922, the Lord Lieutenant was replaced and separated into the
Governor-General of the Irish Free State
The Governor-General of the Irish Free State ( ga, Seanascal Shaorstát Éireann) was the official representative of the Monarchy in the Irish Free State, sovereign of the Irish Free State from 1922 to 1936. By constitutional convention (politi ...
(abolished
in 1936) and the
Governor of Northern Ireland
The governor of Northern Ireland was the principal officer and representative in Northern Ireland of the British monarch. The office was established on 9 December 1922 and abolished on 18 July 1973.
Overview
The office of Governor of Northern ...
(abolished
in 1973).
List
Footnotes
References
Sources
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** reprinted in
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Citations
{{reflist
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
Political office-holders in pre-partition Ireland
Members of the Privy Council of Ireland
Heads of state of Ireland
1922 disestablishments in Ireland
1170s establishments in Ireland