List of Lords Lieutenant of Ireland
Note: Because many of the people appointed as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (sometimes also called Viceroy) did not always continually remain in office but left the office empty for a period (sometimes to return to the Court of St. James, sometimes to return to their British estates) before either being replaced or returning, it is difficult to state terms of office with any accuracy. As a result, the date of appointment of each, rather than a specified term of office, is stated in brackets. Though the office existed earlier, because of difficulty in getting clear information this list begins in 1529. In the earlier years, there were frequently long vacancies, during which a Lord Deputy or Lord Justice would act as chief governor.
Kingdom of Ireland
- 4 August 1528
- Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond and Somerset: 22 June 1529
- 30 July 1534
- Leonard Grey, Lord Grey: 23 February 1536
- Lords Justices: 1 April 1540
- Anthony St Leger (Lord Deputy): 7 July 1540
- 22 April 1548
- Lords Justices: 27 December 1549
- Anthony St Leger (Lord Deputy): 4 August 1550
- 29 April 1551
- Lords Justices: 6 December 1552
- Anthony St Leger (Lord Deputy): 1 September 1553
- Thomas Radcliffe, Lord Fitzwalter (Lord Deputy): 27 April 1556
- Lords Justices: 12 December 1558
- Thomas Radcliffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex (Lord Deputy): 3 July 1559
- Thomas Radcliffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex: 6 May 1560
- Henry Sidney (Lord Deputy): 13 October 1565
- Lord Justice: 1 April 1571
- 11 December 1571
- Henry Sidney (Lord Deputy): 5 August 1575
- Lord Justice: 27 April 1578
- 15 July 1580
- Lords Justices: 14 July 1582
- 7 January 1584
- 17 February 1588
- William Russell (Lord Deputy): 16 May 1594
- Thomas Burgh, Lord Burgh (Lord Deputy): 5 March 1597
- Lords Justices: 29 October 1597
- Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex 12 March 1599
- Lords Justices: 24 September 1599
- Charles Blount, 8th Baron Mountjoy (Lord Deputy): 21 January 1600
- Charles Blount, 8th Baron Mountjoy: 25 April 1603
- Sir 15 October 1604
- Sir Oliver St John: 2 July 1615
- 4 February 1622
- Lords Justices: 8 August 1629
- Thomas Wentworth, 1st Viscount Wentworth (Lord Deputy): 3 July 1633
- Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford: 13 January 1640
- 14 June 1641
- James Butler, 1st Marquess of Ormonde: 13 November 1643 (appointed by the king)
- 9 April 1646, (appointed by parliament, commission expired 15 April 1647)
- James Butler, 1st Marquess of Ormonde: 30 September 1648 (appointed by the King)
- Oliver Cromwell: 22 June 1649
- Henry Ireton (Lord Deputy): 2 July 1650 (d. 20 November 1651)
- Charles Fleetwood (Commander-in-Chief): 9 July 1652
- 17 November 1657
- 6 October 1658, resigned 15 June 1659
- Edmund Ludlow (Commander-in-Chief): 4 July 1659
- George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle: June 1660
- James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde: 21 February 1662
- Thomas Butler, Earl of Ossory (Lord Deputy): 7 February 1668
- John Robartes, 2nd Baron Robartes: 3 May 1669
- John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton: 4 February 1670
- Arthur Capell, 1st Earl of Essex: 21 May 1672
- James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde 24 May 1677
- Lords Justices: 24 February 1685
- 1 October 1685
- 8 January 1687
- James II himself in Ireland: 12 March 1689 - 4 July 1690
- William III himself in Ireland: 14 June 1690
- Lords Justices: 5 September 1690
- 18 March 1692
- Lords Justices: 13 June 1693
- 9 May 1695
- Lords Justices: 16 May 1696
- Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester (December 28, 1700)
- James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde: 19 February 1703
- Thomas Herbert, 8th Earl of Pembroke: 30 April 1707
- 4 December 1708
- James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde: 26 October 1710
- Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury: 22 September 1713
- Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland: 21 September 1714
- Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend: 13 February 1717
- Charles Paulet, 2nd Duke of Bolton: 27 April 1717
- Charles Fitzroy, 2nd Duke of Grafton: 18 June 1720
- John Carteret, 2nd Baron Carteret: 6 May 1724
- Lionel Cranfield Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset: 23 June 1730
- William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire: 9 April 1737
- Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield: 8 January 1745
- William Stanhope, 1st Earl of Harrington: 15 November 1746
- Lionel Cranfield Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset: 15 December 1750
- William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire: 2 April 1755
- John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford: 3 January 1757
- George Montague-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax: 3 April 1761
- 27 April 1763
- Thomas Thynne, 3rd Viscount Weymouth: 5 June 1765
- 7 August 1765
- George William Hervey, 2nd Earl of Bristol: 16 October 1766 (did not assume office)
- George Townsend, 4th Viscount Townsend: 19 August 1767
- Simon Harcourt, 1st Earl Harcourt: 29 October 1772
- 7 December 1776
- Frederick Howard, 5th Earl of Carlisle: 29 November 1780
- William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland: 8 April 1782
- George Nugent-Temple-Grenville, 3rd Earl Temple: 15 August 1782
- 3 May 1783
- 12 February 1784
- George Nugent-Temple-Grenville, 1st Marquess of Buckingham: 27 October 1787
- John Fane, 10th Earl of Westmorland: 24 October 1789
- 13 December 1794
- John Jeffreys Pratt, 2nd Earl Camden: 13 March 1795
- Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis: 14 June 1798
The Irish Act of Union merges the Kingdom of Ireland with the Kingdom of Great Britain to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The new United Kingdom comes into being on January 1, 1801. One result is the disappearance of the separate Irish Parliament. Though many expect the office of Lord Lieutenant to be abolished, it survives, though periodic debates throughout the nineteenth century erupt over whether it should be replaced by a 'Secretary of State for Ireland'. The office of Chief Secretary for Ireland (in effect number two in Irish government ranking) grows in importance, with the Lord Lieutenant gradually reduced to a largely though not completely ceremonial role.
United Kingdom
- Philip Yorke, 3rd Earl of Hardwicke: 27 April 1801
- 21 November 1805 (did not serve)
- John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford: 12 March 1806
- Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond: 11 April 1807
- 23 June 1813
- 3 October 1817
- Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley: 8 December 1821
- Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey: 27 February 1828
- Hugh Percy, 3rd Duke of Northumberland: 22 January 1829
- Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey: 4 December 1830
- Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley: 12 September 1833
- Thomas Hamilton, 9th Earl of Haddington: 1 January 1835
- Constantine Henry Phipps, 6th Earl of Mulgrave: 29 April 1835
- Hugh Fortescue, Viscount Ebrington: 13 March 1839
- Thomas Philip de Grey, 2nd Earl de Grey: 11 September 1841
- William à Court, 1st Baron Heytesbury: 17 July 1844
- John William Ponsonby, 4th Earl of Bessborough: 8 July 1846
- George William Frederick Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon: 22 May 1847
- Archibald William Montgomerie, 13th Earl of Eglinton: 1 March 1852
- Edward Granville Eliot, 3rd Earl of St Germans: 5 January 1853
- George William Frederick Howard, 7th Earl of Carlisle: 7 March 1855
- Archibald William Montgomerie, 13th Earl of Eglinton: 8 March 1858
- George William Frederick Howard, 7th Earl of Carlisle: 24 June 1859
- John Wodehouse, 3rd Baron Wodehouse: 1 November 1864
- James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Abercorn: 13 July 1866
- John Poyntz Spencer, 5th Earl Spencer: 18 December 1868
- James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn: 2 March 1874
- John Winston Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough: 11 December 1876
- Francis Thomas de Grey Cowper, 7th Earl Cowper: 4 May 1880
- John Poyntz Spencer, 5th Earl Spencer: 4 May 1882
- Henry Howard Molyneux Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon: 27 June 1885
- John Campbell Hamilton-Gordon, 7th Earl of Aberdeen: 8 February 1886
- Charles Stewart Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 6th Marquess of Londonderry: 3 August 1886
- Lawrence Dundas, 3rd Earl of Zetland: 30 July 1889
- Robert Offley Ashburton Milnes, 2nd Baron Houghton: 18 August 1892
- George Henry Cadogan, 5th Earl Cadogan: 29 June 1895
- William Humble Ward, 2nd Earl of Dudley: 11 August 1902
- John Campbell Hamilton-Gordon, 7th Earl of Aberdeen: 11 December 1905
- Ivor Churchill Guest, 2nd Baron Wimborne: 17 February 1915
- John Denton Pinkstone French, 1st Viscount French of Ypres: 9 May 1918
- Edmund Fitzalan-Howard, 1st Viscount Fitzalan of Derwent: 27 April 1921
Office abolished with the creation of the Irish Free State on 6 December 1922. It was replaced by the Governor-General of the Irish Free State. In Northern Ireland the position was replaced by that of Governor of Northern Ireland.