Lords Justices of Ireland

In Irish history, the Lords Justices were deputies who acted collectively in the absence of the chief governor of Ireland (latterly the Lord Lieutenant) as head of the executive branch of the Dublin Castle administration. Lords Justices were sworn in at a meeting of the Privy Council of Ireland.

Not to be confused with Lord Chief Justice of Ireland or Lord Justice of Appeal in Ireland.

Sir William Pelham, Lord Justice of Ireland

History

The chief governor of Ireland was appointed by the King of England via letters patent; in medieval times under his privy seal,[1] and later under the Great Seal of England. The patent usually allowed the chief governor to nominate a deputy, though sometimes the King nominated a deputy, and if the chief governor died in office the Privy Council of Ireland would elect a deputy until the King nominated a successor.[2] The title Lord Deputy indicated such a deputy, appointed under the Great Seal of Ireland unless by the King. By the 15th century the de-jure chief governor was usually absent in England and the Lord Deputy was de-facto chief governor.[3] In Tudor Ireland the Lord Deputy was appointed by the King and his deputy appointed by the Privy Council of Ireland was styled the Lord Justice.

In the 17th century the King often left the chief governorship vacant for months or years and instead appointed multiple Lords Justices, not all of whom needed to be present to validate acts of state. Shortly before his 1696 death Lord Deputy Henry Capel nominated Murrough Boyle, 1st Viscount Blesington and William Wolseley to be Lords Justices; Capel's rival, Lord Chancellor Charles Porter, persuaded the Privy Council of Ireland that the deputies' commission expired on Capel's death, whereupon the council elected Porter as sole Lord Justice.[4] Prior to 1765 the chief governor (now styled Lord Lieutenant or viceroy) was often absent in England unless the Parliament of Ireland was in session, typically eight months every two years.[5] The Lords Justices were influential and the English government needed their support.[5] There were always three, typically the Speaker of the Irish House of Commons, another member of Irish Commons or Lords, and a senior bishop of the Church of Ireland.[5] After 1765 the viceroy was resident as a rule, and the practical importance of Lords Justices diminished.[5] They were still required during vacancies between the death or departure of one viceroy and the arrival of his successor, whom they would formally welcome from Great Britain at a state ceremony in Dublin port or latterly Dunleary/Kingstown. After the Acts of Union 1800, de-facto executive power shifted from the viceroy to the Chief Secretary for Ireland, and the Lords Justices like the viceroy exercised only formal power. Often there were more than three Lords Justices sworn in at a time, typically including several senior judges.

List of Lords Justices
See also: List of chief governors of Ireland
This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Until 1689

10 February 1641–January 1644:[7]

26 October 1660–July 1662:[8]

1690–1800

From 1801

11 July 1916 – 11 August 1916:[17]

These five were appointed by letters patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain,[17] and served between the resignation of Lord Lieutenant Viscount Wimborne after the Easter Rising and his reappointment with a new Chief Secretary (Henry Duke replacing Augustine Birrell).[18] Since martial law was in place under the Defence of the Realm Act 1914, General Sir John Maxwell wielded more power as General Officer Commanding in Ireland.[19]

5 May 1921–

  • Six Lords Justices were sworn in, including the first three Catholics[20]

27 June 1921:

  • Nevil Macready, General Officer Commanding in Ireland, was sworn in as a Lord Justice in order to swear in Sir John Ross as Lord Chancellor. The Lords Justice previously appointed were all unavailable owing to the Anglo-Irish War.[21]

Sources
  • Agnew, David Carnegie A. (1864). Henri de Ruvigny, Earl of Galway: A Filial Memoir. Edinburgh: William Paterson.
  • Bagwell, Richard (1909), Ireland under the Stuarts and under the Interregnum, 1, London: Longmans, Green
  • Lodge, John, Archdall, Mervyn, A.M., The Peerage of Ireland, Dublin, 1789.
  • Smyth, Constantine J. (1839). Chronicle of the law officers of Ireland . London: Henry Butterworth.
  • Sturgis, Mark (1999). Hopkinson, Michael (ed.). The Last Days of Dublin Castle: The Mark Sturgis Diaries. Dublin: Irish Academic Press. ISBN 978-0-7165-2626-1.
  • Wood, Herbert (8 February 1923). "The Office of Chief Governor of Ireland, 1172-1509". Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, Section C. 36: 206–238. ISSN 0035-8991. JSTOR 25504230.

Citations
  1. Wood 1923 p.213
  2. Wood 1923 p.212
  3. Wood 1923 p.208
  4. "Boyle, Murrough" by T. G. Doyle DIB CUP
  5. Bartlett, Thomas. "Townshend, George". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  6. Hawkins, Richard. "Arnold, Sir Nicholas". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  7. Armstrong, Robert. "Borlase, Sir John". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  8. Boyle, Roger by T. C. Barnard DIB CUP
  9. Agnew 1864 pp.193, 197
  10. "Massue de Ruvigny, Henri" by Raymond Pierre Hylton DIB CUP
  11. Agnew 1864 p.71
  12. Agnew 1864 p.85
  13. Agnew 1864 p.72
  14. Agnew 1864 p.88–89
  15. Marsh, Narcissus by Muriel McCarthy DIB CUP
  16. J.G. Simms, “Chief Governors: (B) 1534-1800”, in T.W. Moody, F.X. Martin and F.J. Byrne (eds), A New History of Ireland, Vol. IX: Maps, Genealogies, Lists (A Companion to Irish History, Part II), pages 492-493.
  17. "Whitehall, July 11, 1916". The London Gazette (29660): 6851. 11 July 1916.
  18. "The Government of Ireland". The Irish Times. 1 August 1916. p. 4 cols 3–4.; "Irish Viceroyalty; Lord Wimborne Re-Appointed". The Irish Times. 7 August 1916. p. 4 col. 5.
  19. "Executive". Hansard. 24 July 1916. HC Deb ser 5 vol 84 c1322.
  20. Sturgis 1999 p.172
  21. Sturgis 1999 p.193
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