Ireland Secretary of State | |
---|---|
Member of | Privy Council of Ireland |
Seat | Dublin Castle, Dublin |
Appointer | Chief governor of Ireland |
Term length | No fixed term |
Formation | 1560–1801 |
First holder | John Challoner |
Final holder | Charles Abbot, 1st Baron Colchester |
The Principal Secretary of State, or Principal Secretary of the Council, was a government office in the Kingdom of Ireland. It was abolished in 1801 when Ireland became part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland under the Acts of Union 1800.
The post was created in May 1560 by the Lord Deputy of Ireland, Thomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex. Sussex created the role to help re-establish English governance in Ireland, as part of the wider Tudor conquest of Ireland. The role was modelled in part on the role of Secretary of State in England, and was intended to be distinct from the clerks of the Irish Privy Council or the Governor's Private Secretary. [1] Whilst the nature of the role evolved other time, originally the holder was expected to: [2]
Other, less common functions included: [2]
In part due to the absence of the Southwells during their time in the role, it became largely ceremonial, with more correspondence being managed directly by the Lord Lieutenant and his Chief Secretary, or alternatively the Lords Justices (who themselves became defunct after 1765). Richard Cooke, for instance, acted as both Chancellor of the Exchequer of Ireland and Secretary of State at the same time. [2] The last three Secretaries of State also held the more powerful position of Chief Secretary. No Secretary of State was appointed after the 1800 Acts of Union; in 1802 the last appointee resigned to become Speaker of the UK House of Commons. [2]
The Lord President of the Council is the presiding officer of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom and the fourth of the Great Officers of State, ranking below the Lord High Treasurer but above the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal. The Lord President usually attends and is responsible for chairing the meetings of the Privy Council, presenting business for the approval of the Sovereign.
The Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key political office in the British administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant, and officially the "Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant", from the early 19th century until the end of British rule he was effectively the government minister with responsibility for governing Ireland, roughly equivalent to the role of a Secretary of State, such as the similar role of Secretary of State for Scotland. Usually it was the Chief Secretary, rather than the Lord Lieutenant, who sat in the British Cabinet. The Chief Secretary was ex officio President of the Local Government Board for Ireland from its creation in 1872.
Thomas Pelham, 2nd Earl of Chichester PC, PC (Ire), FRS, styled The Honourable Thomas Pelham from 1768 until 1783, The Right Honourable Thomas Pelham from 1783 to 1801, and then known as Lord Pelham until 1805, was a British Whig politician. He notably held office as Home Secretary under Henry Addington from 1801 to 1803.
A privy seal is the personal seal of a reigning monarch, used to authenticate official documents of a personal nature, in contrast to a great seal, which is used for documents of greater importance.
The Liberal government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland that began in 1859 and ended in 1866 consisted of two ministries: the second Palmerston ministry and the second Russell ministry.
The Under-Secretary for Ireland was the permanent head of the British administration in Ireland prior to the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922.
His or Her Majesty's Privy Council in Ireland, commonly called the Privy Council of Ireland, Irish Privy Council, or in earlier centuries the Irish Council, was the institution within the Dublin Castle administration which exercised formal executive power in conjunction with the chief governor of Ireland, who was viceroy of the British monarch. The council evolved in the Lordship of Ireland on the model of the Privy Council of England; as the English council advised the king in person, so the Irish council advised the viceroy, who in medieval times was a powerful Lord Deputy. In the early modern period the council gained more influence at the expense of the viceroy, but in the 18th century lost influence to the Parliament of Ireland. In the post-1800 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Irish Privy Council and viceroy Lord Lieutenant had formal and ceremonial power, while policy formulation rested with a Chief Secretary directly answerable to the British cabinet. The council comprised senior public servants, judges, and parliamentarians, and eminent men appointed for knowledge of public affairs or as a civic honour.
The Treasurer of the Chamber was at various points a position in the British royal household.
Edward Cooke was a British politician and pamphleteer.
Sir William Pelham was an English soldier and Lord Justice of Ireland, which was a military and political role rather than a judicial one.
Sir William Parsons, 1st Baronet of Bellamont, PC (Ire), was known as a "land-hunter" expropriating land from owners whose titles were deemed defective. He also served as Surveyor General of Ireland and was an undertaker in several plantations. He governed Ireland as joint Lord Justice of Ireland from February 1640 to April 1643 during the Irish rebellion of 1641 and the beginning of the Irish Confederate War.
Sir John Davys was an Irish politician.
Sir Paul Davys was an Irish politician and civil servant, who held office as Clerk to the Privy Council of Ireland and later as Secretary of State (Ireland). He had considerable influence in public affairs, and enjoyed the close friendship of the Lord Lieutenant, James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde. His sons, William and John, both attained high office. He was the grandfather of Paul Davys, 1st Viscount Mount Cashell.
John Challoner MP was the first Secretary of State for Ireland, appointed by Queen Elizabeth I of England in 1560. He also sat at different times as a member of parliament in both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Ireland. He should not be confused with his contemporary, Alderman John Challoner, Mayor of Dublin between 1556 and 1557, who died in 1565.
The order of precedence in Ireland was fixed by Royal Warrant on 2 January 1897 during Ireland's ties to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
In the United Kingdom, the Great Officers of State are traditional ministers of the Crown who either inherit their positions or are appointed to exercise certain largely ceremonial functions or to operate as members of the government. Separate Great Officers exist for England and Wales, Scotland, and formerly for Ireland, though some exist for Great Britain and the United Kingdom as a whole.
Sir Dudley Norton was an English official who was Secretary of State of the Kingdom of Ireland.