The Lord President of Connaught was a military leader with wide-ranging powers, reaching into the civil sphere, in the English government of

Connaught Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...

in Ireland, in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The office was created in 1569, and in 1604 was reconstituted with full powers to hear all civil suits, to impose

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 to proceed with "fire and sword" against the King's enemies. The width of his powers gave rise to clashes with the longer established courts: in 1622 he and the

Lord President of Munster The post of Lord President of Munster was the most important office in the English government of the Irish province of Munster from its introduction in the Elizabethan era for a century, to 1672, a period including the Desmond Rebellions in Munste ...

were ordered not to "intermeddle' in cases which were properly within the remit of those courts. He was assisted by a council whose members included the Chief Justice of Connacht, one or two associate justices and the Attorney General for the Province of Connacht. The office was abolished in 1672.

List of Lord Presidents of Connaught

*1569-1572

Sir Edward Fitton Sir Edward Fitton the elder (31 March 1527 – 3 July 1579), was Lord President of Connaught and Thomond and the Vice-Treasurer of Ireland. Biography Fitton was the eldest son of Sir Edward Fitton of Gawsworth (d.1548) and Mary Harbottle, daught ...

*1579-1581 Sir Nicholas Malby *1584-1597 Richard Bingham *1597-1599

Sir Conyers Clifford Sir Conyers Clifford (c. 1566 – 1599) was an English politician and military commander. Life and career He was the son of George Clifford, esq., of Bobbing Court in Kent, by his wife Ursula, daughter of Roger Finch. His elder brother, Henry ...

*1604-1616

Richard Burke, 4th Earl of Clanricarde Richard Burke, 4th Earl of Clanricarde (also Richard de Burgh) (; ; ; ; 1572 – 12 November 1635) was an Irish nobleman and politician. He was the son of Ulick Burke, 3rd Earl of Clanricarde. Knighted in 1602 for his exploits as leader of th ...

*1616-1644

Charles Wilmot, 1st Viscount Wilmot Charles Wilmot, 1st Viscount Wilmot of Athlone (c. 1572 – 1644) was an English soldier active in Ireland. Life He was the son of Edward Wilmot of Culham (otherwise of Newent, Gloucestershire and Witney, Oxfordshire) and Elizabeth Stafford. O ...

Theobald Dillon, 1st Viscount Dillon Theobald Dillon, 1st Viscount Dillon (died 1624), was an Irish military commander and adventurer. He held extensive lands in eastern Connacht and north-western Leinster, some acquired by sharp practices. He was a loyal supporter of Elizabeth I o ...

, according to some sources, had the title from c. 1621, but Wilmot certainly continued in the post for life. *1630 (joint)

Roger Jones, 1st Viscount Ranelagh Sir Roger Jones, 1st Viscount Ranelagh PC (Ire) (before 1589 – 1643) was joint Lord President of Connaught with Charles Wilmot, 1st Viscount Wilmot. He commanded the government forces in Connaught during the Irish Rebellion of 1641 and the b ...

*c.1642 (joint)

Thomas Dillon, 4th Viscount Dillon Thomas Dillon, 4th Viscount Dillon PC (Ire) (1615–1673) held his title for 42 years that saw Strafford's administration, the Irish Rebellion of 1641, the Irish Confederate Wars and the Cromwellian Conquest of Ireland. He was a royalist and s ...

*1644-1658 (joint with Dillon)

Henry Wilmot, 1st Earl of Rochester Lieutenant-General Henry Wilmot, 1st Earl of Rochester (26 October 1612 – 19 February 1658), known as The Lord Wilmot between 1643 and 1644 and as The Viscount Wilmot between 1644 and 1652, was an English Cavalier who fought for the Royalist cau ...

*c.1643

Malachias O'Queely Malachi (; ) is the traditional author of the Book of Malachi, the last book of the Nevi'im (Prophets) section of the Tanakh. According to the 1897 ''Easton's Bible Dictionary'', it is possible that Malachi is not a proper name, as it simply mean ...

(Confederation) *1640s Sir Charles Coote (royalist turned parliamentarian) *1661

John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton (1602 – 26 August 1678) was an English royalist soldier, politician and diplomat, of the Bruton branch of the Berkeley family. From 1648 he was closely associated with James, Duke of York, and ...

, appointed for life, but the office was abolished in 1672. He died in 1678.

Deputies and vice-president

*1580-1581

Sir Thomas Norris Sir Thomas Norris (1556–1599) was an English soldier. He sat in the Irish House of Commons, and was made Lord President of Munster in Ireland. His last name is sometimes spelt Norreys. Family He was the fifth son of Henry Norris, 1st Baron ...

, acting *1596-1597 Sir Thomas Norris, provisional *1604-1607 Sir Robert Remington (The History of Parliament: The House of Commons 1604-1629 ed. A. Thrush and J.P. Ferris, vol. 6, pp. 23–24) *1610-1615 Sir Oliver St. John (Calendar of State Papers, Ireland, 1608–10, p. 481; Acts of the Privy Council, 1615–16, p. 556)

Notes

{{Reflist Government of Ireland 16th-century English people 17th-century English people Early Modern Ireland Political office-holders in pre-partition Ireland

List of Lord Presidents of Connaught

Deputies and vice-president

See also

Notes