List of Irish monarchs

Early medieval kings in Ireland

For a list of kings of the early medieval period in the various Gaelic kingdoms of Ireland, as opposed to kings of all Ireland, see List of Irish kings.

High Kings of Ireland 846–1198

• The historical High-Kings of Ireland begin with the inauguration of Mael Sechnaill mac Maele Ruanaid in 846 and end with Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair, who died in 1198.

Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair

Ruaidrí was crowned as King of Ireland at Dublin in the spring of 1166. He was arguably the first undisputed full king of all Ireland. He was also the only Gaelic one, as the Norman invasion of Ireland in 1169 undid the Gaelic efforts towards establishing an indigenous kingdom of the whole of Ireland. King Ruaidrí died at Cong in 1198 and was buried at Clonmacnoise. He was the last fully recognised Gaelic monarch of Ireland. Later claimants, such as Brian Ua Neill (died 1260) and Edward Bruce (died 1318), were not recognised as having this status, even among the native Irish.

From Lordship of Ireland to British monarchy

In 1177, as the leader of the Norman invasion of Ireland, King Henry II of England created the title of Lord of Ireland for his youngest son John, who was not then expected to succeed to any other title. However, John became king of England in 1199, and the title was held thereafter by his successors as monarchs of England, with the agreement of successive Popes. By the Crown of Ireland Act 1542, which followed soon after Henry VIII's break with Rome, the Lordship of Ireland was raised into the Kingdom of Ireland. This continued to exist as a separate Kingdom after the Acts of Union 1707 which united the kingdoms of England and Scotland into Great Britain.

• From King John (of the House of Plantagenet) to King Henry VIII (of the House of Tudor), English monarchs were also Lords of Ireland.
• From King Henry VIII to Queen Anne (of the House of Stuart), English monarchs were also King or Queen of Ireland.
• From Queen Anne to King George III (of the House of Hanover), British monarchs were also King or Queen of Ireland.
• Note: In 1506 Lambert Simnel, an English pretender to the throne, was crowned Edward VI of Ireland

During the reign of George III of the United Kingdom the Kingdoms of Great Britain and of Ireland merged to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland by the terms of the Act of Union 1800.

British monarchy to Irish monarchy

In 1921 the Partition of Ireland occurred where the island was divided in two: the Irish Free State, which became a dominion; and Northern Ireland, which remained part of the United Kingdom.

With the passage in 1931 of the Statute of Westminster, the British monarch (that is, King George V in his British council, parliament, and courts) ceased to have dominion over the Irish Free State; only the monarch in right of Ireland had sovereignty over that realm, advised by Irish ministers and acting in his Irish parliament and courts only,^[1][2] though the monarch of the Irish Free State was the same person as the monarch of the United Kingdom and the other Dominions of the British Commonwealth.

In 1936, the Irish parliament removed most functions of the monarch from the constitution during the abdication crisis. Whether the Irish head of state from 1936 to 1949 was King George VI, or the President of Ireland, is unclear.^[3][4]

The Republic of Ireland Act proclaimed the Irish Free State a republic with effect from 1949 and removed the remaining duties of the monarch, and Ireland formally withdrew from the British Commonwealth.^[5]

Northern Ireland remained as a constituent part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

References