For over 300 years the government of Ireland was headed by the lord lieutenant, a peer who combined the 'efficient' direction of the Irish executive on behalf of the British crown with the 'decorative' role of viceroy or surrogate of the crown at the centre of the Irish court at Dublin Castle. In this volume a number of leading historians explore the multiple dimensions of the Irish lord lieutenancy as an institution - political, social and cultural - between its gradual emergence in the wake of the Tudor proclamation of the 'Kingdom of Ireland' in 1541, and the office's abolition in the context of revolution, independence and partition in 1922. They build on recent research into the complex historical relationship between the British monarchy and Ireland in evaluating the often contradictory roles played by viceroys in British-Irish relations. While the contributors assess the relationship between the lord lieutenancy and the varied and often contested state-building and nation-building activities of the British state in Ireland, they also illuminate the range of personalities of the peers who held the office, and the contribution these incumbents made to defining in practice a role that was always constitutionally opaque. Over the course of more than three centuries, lords lieutenant were at different times military strongmen, quasi-regal Irish magnates, absentee courtiers, activist chief executives and powerless figureheads. Long before the extinction of the office many in both Ireland and Britain had come to question its purpose and efficacy, yet it endured until British rule ended with the establishment of the Irish Free State. This volume sets out to explain the longevity of this governing institution, and unravel both what it symbolised and what it amounted to in substance.

About the Author
Peter Gray is Head of the School of History and Anthropology and Professor of Modern Irish History at Queen's University Belfast. Olwen Purdue is a Lecturer in Modern Irish History at Queen's University Belfast.

Reviews
'This volume demonstrates the richness of the evidence and the intellectual challenges presented by trying to understand the Irish viceroyalty. It should be in the hands of those with even a tangential interest in the history of modern Ireland.' Parliamentary History, May 2014 'This volume stands out in terms of the exceptional quality of the writing and ideas of all the contributors, not surprisingly given the intellectual depth and scholarly records of them all.' The Australasian Journal of Irish Studies, February 2014 'This collection of essays is excellently researched and thoroughly readable as both a cover to cover book and as resource for students of different periods to dip into.' Irish Literary Supplement, Spring 2014 'Gray and Purdue's accomplishment in bringing the very diverse and varied constitutional role of the Lord Lieutenant, in the long run, under historical analysis for the very first time. The broad scope of this book, on the political, social, and religious aspects of the Lord Lieutenancy will make this work an essential piece of reading for many different types of historians studying Ireland in the future.' Irish Economic and Social History Vol. XL 2013 'It surpasses what one expects of published conference proceedings in that it is elegant, coherent, intelligent and timely. Its elegance derives not only from a dazzling dust jacket and a portfolio of portraits but also from the crisp prose sustained by the authors of each chapter.' The Irish Times, March 30 2013 'The editors of this fine volume are to be commended for assembling this collection of essays which will serve the historian and the general reader equally well. The essays are of a uniformly high standard as might be expected of the stellar list of contributors. All are written with verve and confidence reflecting the deep underlying scholarship. This book is a welcome and much needed addition to our understanding of a key post in Irish history and can be unreservedly recommended.' Books Ireland, April 2013



Book Information
ISBN 9781906359607
Author Peter Gray
Format Hardback
Page Count 264
Imprint University College Dublin Press
Publisher University College Dublin Press