TheChief Secretary for Ireland was a key political office in the Britishadministration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to theLord Lieutenant, and officially the "Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant",[1] from the early 19th century until the end of British rule he was effectively thegovernment minister with responsibility for governing Ireland, roughly equivalent to the role of aSecretary of State, such as the similar role ofSecretary of State for Scotland. Usually it was the Chief Secretary, rather than the Lord Lieutenant, who sat in theBritish Cabinet.[2] The Chief Secretary wasex officio President of theLocal Government Board for Ireland from its creation in 1872.[3]
Chief Sectretary's Lodge, Phoenix Park, now the Deerfield Residence of the U.S. Ambassador
The dominant position of the Lord Lieutenant atDublin Castle had been central to the British administration of theKingdom of Ireland for much of its history.Poynings' Law in particular meant that theParliament of Ireland lacked theright of initiative, and theCrown kept control of executive authority in the hands of officials sent from London, rather than ministersresponsible to the Irish parliament.
In 1560, QueenElizabeth I of England and Ireland ordered the Lord Lieutenant, theEarl of Sussex, to appointJohn Challoner ofDublin asSecretary of State for Ireland "because at this present there is none appointed to be Clerk of our Council there, and considering how more meet it were, that in our realm there were for our honour one to be our Secretary there for the affairs of our Realm".[4] The appointment of a Secretary was intended to both improve Irish administration, and to keep the Lord Lieutenant in line.[citation needed] The role of Secretary of State for Ireland and Chief Secretary of Ireland were originally distinct positions,Thomas Pelham being the first individual appointed to both offices concurrently in 1796.[5]
Over time, the post of Chief Secretary gradually increased in importance, particularly because of his role as manager of legislative business for the Government in theIrish House of Commons, in which he sat as anMP, making him a sort of ersatz Prime Minister. While the Irish administration was notresponsible to the parliament, it nevertheless needed to manage and influence it in order to ensure the passage of legislation.
Chief SecretaryViscount Castlereagh played a key role in the enactment of theAct of Union which passed in the Irish Parliament on its second attempt in 1800 through the exercise of patronage and direct bribery.[citation needed] Upon the Union on 1 January 1801, the Kingdom of Ireland was merged into theUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the Irish parliament ceased to exist. However, the existing system of administration in Ireland continued broadly in place, with the offices of Lord Lieutenant and Chief Secretary retaining their respective roles.
This list includes holders of a keypolitical office in the British administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to theLord Lieutenant, from the late 18th century until the end of British rule he was effectively thegovernment minister with responsibility for governing Ireland; usually it was the Chief Secretary, rather than the Lord Lieutenant, who sat in theBritish Cabinet.[2] Exceptions were the periods from 29 June 1895 to 8 August 1902, when the Lord LieutenantLord Cadogan sat in the Cabinet and the Chief SecretariesGerald Balfour until 9 November 1900 did not sit there andGeorge Wyndham from that date also sat there,[6] and from 28 October 1918 to 2 April 1921, when both the Lord LieutenantLord French and the Chief SecretariesEdward Shortt,Ian Macpherson andSir Hamar Greenwood sat in the Cabinet.[7]
^Herbert Wood, The Offices of Secretary of State for Ireland and Keeper of the Royal Privy Seal, in Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, Section C: Archaeology, Celtic Studies, History, Linguistics, Literature (1928), p. 51
^Herbert Wood, The Offices of Secretary of State for Ireland and Keeper of the Royal Privy Seal, in Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, Section C: Archaeology, Celtic Studies, History, Linguistics, Literature (1928), p. 55
British Historical Facts 1760–1830, by Chris Cook and John Stevenson (The Macmillan Press 1980)ISBN0-333-21512-5 (includes list of Chief Secretaries on page 31)
British Historical Facts 1830–1900, by Chris Cook and Brendan Keith (The Macmillan Press 1975)ISBN0-333-13220-3 (includes list of Chief Secretaries on pages 52–53)
Twentieth-Century British Political Facts 1900–2000, by David Butler and Gareth Butler (Macmillan Press, Eighth edition 2000)ISBN0-333-77222-9 paperback (includes list of Chief Secretaries on page 61)
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