List of Lord Lieutenants of Ireland

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[edit] Early Lords Lieutenant

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Edward Sutton, later 1st Lord Dudley 1428-1430

[edit] Kingdom of Ireland

Note: Because many of the people appointed as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (sometimes also called Viceroy) did not always continually remain in office but left the office empty for a period (sometimes to return to the Court of St. James's, sometimes to return to their British estates) before either being replaced or returning, it is difficult to state terms of office with any accuracy. As a result, the date of appointment of each, rather than a specified term of office, is stated in brackets. Though the office existed earlier, because of difficulty in getting clear information this list begins in 1529. In the earlier years, there were frequently long vacancies, during which a Lord Deputy or Lord Justice would act as chief governor.

The Earl of Ossory (Lord Deputy): 4 August 1528
The Duke of Richmond and Somerset: 22 June 1529
Sir William Skeffington (Lord Deputy): 30 July 1534
The Viscount Grane: 23 February 1536
Lords Justices: 1 April 1540
Sir Anthony St Leger (Lord Deputy): 7 July 1540
Sir Edward Bellingham (Lord Deputy): 22 April 1548
Lords Justices: 27 December 1549
Sir Anthony St Leger (Lord Deputy): 4 August 1550
Sir James Croft (Lord Deputy): 29 April 1551
Lords Justices: 6 December 1552
Sir Anthony St Leger (Lord Deputy): 1 September 1553
Viscount FitzWalter (Lord Deputy): 27 April 1556
Lords Justices: 12 December 1558
The Earl of Sussex (Lord Deputy): 3 July 1559
The Earl of Sussex: 6 May 1560
Sir Henry Sidney (Lord Deputy): 13 October 1565
Lord Justice: 1 April 1571
Sir William FitzWilliam (Lord Deputy): 11 December 1571
Sir Henry Sidney (Lord Deputy): 5 August 1575
Lord Justice: 27 April 1578
The Lord Grey de Wilton (Lord Deputy): 15 July 1580
Lords Justices: 14 July 1582
Sir John Perrot (Lord Deputy): 7 January 1584
Sir William FitzWilliam (Lord Deputy): 17 February 1588
Sir William Russell (Lord Deputy): 16 May 1594
The Lord Burgh (Lord Deputy): 5 March 1597
Lords Justices: 29 October 1597
The Earl of Essex 12 March 1599
Lords Justices: 24 September 1599
The Lord Mountjoy (Lord Deputy): 21 January 1600
The Lord Mountjoy: 25 April 1603
Sir Arthur Chichester (Lord Deputy): 15 October 1604
Sir Oliver St John: 2 July 1615
The Viscount of Falkland (Lord Deputy): 4 February 1622
Lords Justices: 8 August 1629
The Viscount Wentworth (Lord Deputy): 3 July 1633
The Earl of Strafford: 13 January 1640
The Earl of Leicester: 14 June 1641
The Marquess of Ormonde: 13 November 1643 (appointed by the king)
Viscount Lisle: 9 April 1646 (appointed by parliament, commission expired 15 April 1647)
The Marquess of Ormonde: 30 September 1648 (appointed by the King)
Oliver Cromwell: 22 June 1649
Henry Ireton (Lord Deputy): 2 July 1650 (d. 20 November 1651)
Charles Fleetwood (Commander-in-Chief): 9 July 1652
Henry Cromwell (Lord Deputy): 17 November 1657
Henry Cromwell: 6 October 1658, resigned 15 June 1659
Edmund Ludlow (Commander-in-Chief): 4 July 1659
The Duke of Albemarle: June 1660
The Duke of Ormonde: 21 February 1662
The Earl of Ossory (Lord Deputy): 7 February 1668
The Lord Robartes: 3 May 1669
The Lord Berkeley of Stratton: 4 February 1670
The Earl of Essex: 21 May 1672
The Duke of Ormonde 24 May 1677
Lords Justices: 24 February 1685
The Earl of Clarendon: 1 October 1685
The Earl of Tyrconnell (Lord Deputy): 8 January 1687
King James II himself in Ireland: 12 March 1689 - 4 July 1690
King William III himself in Ireland: 14 June 1690
Lords Justices: 5 September 1690
The Viscount Sydney: 18 March 1692
Lords Justices: 13 June 1693
The Lord Capell (Lord Deputy): 9 May 1695
Lords Justices: 16 May 1696
The Earl of Rochester: 28 December 1700
The Duke of Ormonde: 19 February 1703
The Earl of Pembroke: 30 April 1707
The Earl of Wharton: 4 December 1708
The Duke of Ormonde: 26 October 1710
The Duke of Shrewsbury: 22 September 1713
The Earl of Sunderland: 21 September 1714
The Viscount Townshend: 13 February 1717
The Duke of Bolton: 27 April 1717
The Duke of Grafton: 18 June 1720
The Lord Carteret: 6 May 1724
The Duke of Dorset: 23 June 1730
The Duke of Devonshire: 9 April 1737
The Earl of Chesterfield: 8 January 1745
The Earl of Harrington: 15 November 1746
The Duke of Dorset: 15 December 1750
The Duke of Devonshire: 2 April 1755
The Duke of Bedford: 3 January 1757
The Earl of Halifax: 3 April 1761
The Earl of Northumberland: 27 April 1763
The Viscount Weymouth: 5 June 1765
The Earl of Hertford: 7 August 1765
The Earl of Bristol: 16 October 1766 (did not assume office)
The Viscount Townsend: 19 August 1767
The Earl Harcourt: 29 October 1772
The Earl of Buckinghamshire: 7 December 1776
The Earl of Carlisle: 29 November 1780
The Duke of Portland: 8 April 1782
The Earl Temple: 15 August 1782
The Earl of Northington: 3 May 1783
The Duke of Rutland: 12 February 1784
The Marquess of Buckingham: 27 October 1787
The Earl of Westmorland: 24 October 1789
The Earl FitzWilliam: 13 December 1794
The Earl Camden: 13 March 1795
The Marquess Cornwallis: 14 June 1798

The Irish Act of Union merges the Kingdom of Ireland with the Kingdom of Great Britain to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The new United Kingdom comes into being on January 1, 1801. One result is the disappearance of the separate Irish Parliament. Though many expect the office of Lord Lieutenant to be abolished, it survives, though periodic debates throughout the nineteenth century erupt over whether it should be replaced by a 'Secretary of State for Ireland'. The office of Chief Secretary for Ireland (in effect number two in Irish government ranking) grows in importance, with the Lord Lieutenant gradually reduced to a largely though not completely ceremonial role.