Lord Chancellor of Ireland

The Lord High Chancellor of Ireland (commonly known as Lord Chancellor of Ireland) was the highest judicial office in Ireland until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. From 1721 to 1801, it was also the highest political office of the Irish Parliament: the Chancellor was Speaker of the Irish House of Lords. The Lord Chancellor was also Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of Ireland. In all three respects, the office mirrored the Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain.

Origins

There is a good deal of confusion as to precisely when the office originated. Until the reign of Henry III of England, it is doubtful if the offices of Irish and English Chancellor were distinct. Only in 1232 is there a clear reference to a separate Court of Chancery (Ireland). Early Irish Lord Chancellors, beginning with Stephen Ridell in 1186, were simply the English Chancellor acting through a Deputy. In about 1244 the decision was taken that there must be separate holders of the office in England and Ireland. Elrington Ball states that the salary was fixed at sixty marks a year, equivalent to forty pounds sterling. Although it was twice what an itinerant justice was paid at the time, it was apparently not considered to be a very generous amount: Richard Northalis, Lord Chancellor 1393–97, complained that it did not cover even a third of his expenses, and asked for an extra payment of twenty pounds a year. In his case, it is thought that the hostility of his colleagues in government was responsible for the poor salary.

In the earlier centuries, the Lord Chancellor was always a cleric, and usually an Englishman. Lay Chancellors became common after the Reformation, and no cleric was appointed Chancellor after 1665, but although there were a number of exceptions, the Crown retained a preference for English-born Chancellors until the mid-nineteenth century.

Lord Chancellors of Ireland, 1186–1922

12th century

  • Stephen Ridell. Appointed in 1186. (first Chancellor). Came to Ireland in the entourage of the future King John, and was then referred to as "his Chancellor".

13th century

14th century

15th century

Chancellor 1479 and 1482-1483)

16th century

17th century

18th century

19th century

20th century

Name
(Birth–Death)
Term of office Other Peerage(s) Monarch
(Reign)
Notes
Sir Samuel Walker
(1832–1911)
12 December
1905
13 August
1911
Baronet in 1906 Edward VII (Lord Chancellor, 1892-5)
George V
Redmond Barry
(1866–1913)
26 September
1911
11 July
1913
(sitting Attorney-General)
Sir Ignatius O'Brien
(1857–1930)
10 April
1913
1918 Baronet in 1916
Baron in 1918
(sitting Attorney-General)
Sir James Campbell
(1851–1931)
4 June
1918
1921 Baronet in 1917
Baron in 1921
(Attorney-General, 1905 and 1916–17; Lord Chief Justice, 1917-18)
Sir John Ross, Bt.
(1853–1935)
27 June
1921
27 December
1922
Baronet in 1919

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