lords justices

lords justices were temporary governors of Ireland in the absence or death of a lord lieutenant or lord deputy. In the 16th century there were generally two lords justices, normally appointed by their fellow privy counsellors, and most commonly consisting of the lord chancellor and lord chief justice. As stop‐gaps they made no major policy changes but often had to cope with military emergencies such as the rising of 1641.

Between 1690 and 1700 the government of Ireland was placed entirely in the hands of successive teams of two or three lords justices, although in 1692–3 and 1695–6 Viscount Sidney and Sir Henry Capel, initially lords justices, became respectively lord lieutenant and lord deputy. From 1700 lords justices were once again deputies for absent lords lieutenant, but since these were now invariably English politicians who up to 1767 resided in Ireland only during the parliamentary session, the scope of the office was substantial. Lords justices enjoyed a salary of £1,500 a year each, controlled a staff, dealt with law and order, and advised on offices, honours, and pensions. Up to the mid‐1720s they were generally chosen from among leading local figures; William Conolly, Lord Midleton ( Alan Brodrick), and Archbishop King all served repeatedly. Following the Wood's Halfpence crisis, when the lords justices had joined in frustrating the government's plans, authority was more cautiously bestowed. It became normal practice to appoint three lords justices: the lord chancellor and the archbishop of Armagh, both of whom were for most of the remainder of the century Englishmen, and the speaker of the House of Commons, who was generally the leading undertaker.

HM/ and Hiram Morgan