In Medieval times, the Lord Lieutenant was the appointed representative for Ireland. However, this post would mutate into a ceremonial post and power passed to his supposed deputy; the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant. Indeed, it would be the Chief Secretary from 1798 who would spearhead the patronage and bribery required to get the Irish House of Parliament to dissolve itself and join Britain. Thereafter, from 1801, Ireland became an integral part of the United Kingdom. The Lord Lieutenant did not have the right to sit as an MP. In fact, it would be the Chief Secretary who would have an automatic cabinet seat in the British Government rather than his nominal superior. This arrangement lasted until 1922 when the Irish Free State was established. Ireland remained as a Dominion until 1948 with a Governor General representing the Monarch in Ireland until that date.

Chief Secretaries for Ireland from 1798
Robert Stewart
Viscount Castlereagh
3 Nov 1798 - 26 Apr 1801
John (Viscount) Fitzgibbon
26 Apr 1801 - 25 May 1801
Charles Abbot
25 May 1801 - 13 Feb 1802
William Wickham
13 Feb 1802 - 6 Feb 1804
Sir Evan Nepean
6 Feb 1804 - 23 Mar 1805
Sir Nicholas Vansittart
23 Mar 1805 - 21 Sep 1805
Charles Long
21 Sep 1805 - 28 Mar 1806
William Elliot
28 Mar 1806 - 19 Apr 1807
Sir Arthur Wellesley
19 Apr 1807 - 13 Apr 1809
Robert Saunders-Dundas
13 Apr 1809 - 18 Oct 1809
William Wellesley-Pole
18 Oct 1809 - 4 Aug 1812
Robert Peel
4 Aug 1812 - 4 Aug 1818
Charles Grant
3 Aug 1818 - 29 Dec 1821
Henry Goulburn
29 Dec 1821 - 29 Apr 1827
William Lamb
Viscount Melbourne
29 Apr 1827 - 21 Jun 1828
Francis Egerton Leveson-Gower
Earl Gower
21 Jun 1828 - 17 Jul 1830
Sir Henry Hardinge
17 Jul 1830 - 29 Nov 1830
Edward (Earl) Stanley
29 Nov 1830 - 29 Mar 1833
Sir John Cam Hobhouse
29 Mar 1833 - 17 May 1833
Edward John Littleton
17 May 1833 - 16 Dec 1834
Sir Henry Hardinge
16 Dec 1834 - 29 Apr 1835
George Howard
Viscount Morpeth
29 Apr 1835 - 6 Sep 1841
Edward Granville Eliot
Earl of St. Germans
6 Sep 1841 - 1 Feb 1845
Sir Thomas Fremantle
Baron Cottosloe
1 Feb 1845 - 14 Feb 1846
Henry Pelham Pelham-Clinton
Earl of Lincoln
14 Feb 1846 - 6 Jul 1846
Henry Labouchere
6 Jul 1846 - 22 Jul 1847
Sir William Somerville
22 Jul 1847 - 1 Mar 1852
Richard Southwell Bourke
Earl Naas
1 Mar 1852 - 6 Jan 1853
Sir John Young
6 Jan 1853 - 1 Mar 1855
Edward Horsman
1 Mar 1855 - 27 May 1857
Henry Arthur Herbert
27 May 1857 - 4 Mar 1858
Richard Southwell Bourke
Earl Naas
4 Mar 1858 - 24 Jun 1859
Edward Cardwell
24 Jun 1859 - 29 Jul 1861
Chichester Parkinson-Fortescue
29 Jul 1861 - 7 Dec 1865
Sir Robert Peel
7 Dec 1865 - 26 Jun 1866
Richard Southwell Bourke
Earl Naas
6 Jul 1866 - 29 Sep 1868
John Wilson-Patten
29 Sep 1868 - 16 Dec 1868
Chichester Parkinson-Fortescue
16 Dec 1868 - 12 Jan 1871
Spencer Cavendish
Marquis of Hartington
12 Jan 1871 - 27 Feb 1874
Sir Michael Hicks-Beach
27 Feb 1874 - 15 Feb 1878
James Lowther
15 Feb 1878 - 30 Apr 1880
William Edward Forster
30 Apr 1880 - 6 May 1882
Frederick Charles Cavendish
Earl Cavendish
6 May 1882 - 9 May 1882
Sir George Otto Trevelyan
9 May 1882 - 23 Oct 1884
Henry Campbell-Bannerman
23 Oct 1884 - 25 Jun 1885
Sir William Hart Dyke
25 Jun 1885 - 23 Jan 1886
William Henry Smith
23 Jan 1886 - 6 Feb 1886
John Morley
6 Feb 1886 - 5 Aug 1886
Sir Michael Hicks-Beach
5 Aug 1886 - 7 Mar 1887
Sir Arthur James Balfour
7 Mar 1887 - 9 Nov 1891
Willliam Lawies Jackson
9 Nov 1891 - 22 Aug 1892
John Morley
22 Aug 1892 - 4 Jul 1895
Gerald William Balfour
4 Jul 1895 - 7 Nov 1900
George Wyndham
7 Nov 1900 - 12 Mar 1905
Walter Hume Long
12 Mar 1905 - 10 Dec 1905
James Bryce
10 Dec 1905 - 23 Jan 1907
Augustine Birrell
23 Jan 1907 - 31 Jul 1916
Henry Edward Duke
31 Jul 1916 - 5 May 1918
Edward Shortt
5 May 1918 - 10 Jan 1919
(James) Ian Macpherson
10 Jan 1919 - 2 Apr 1920
Sir James Hamar Greenwood
2 Apr 1920 - 19 Oct 1922


Ireland


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by Stephen Luscombe