Lordship of Ireland

This article is about the prior realm. For the modern state, see Republic of Ireland; for other uses of Ireland, see Ireland (disambiguation).

Lordship of Ireland
1171–1541
Flag Coat of arms
Capital	Dublin
Common languages	Irish, English
Government	Monarchy
Lord of Ireland
• 1171-1189	Henry II
• 1509-1541	Henry VIII
Lord Lieutenant
• 1528-1529	Piers Butler
• 1540–1548	Anthony St Leger
Legislature	Parliament of Ireland
• Upper house	Irish House of Lords
• Lower house	Irish House of Commons
History
• Established	1171
• Act of the Irish Parliament	1541
ISO 3166 code	IE
Succeeded by Kingdom of Ireland

The Lordship of Ireland (1171-1541) was a nominally all-island Irish state created in the wake of the Norman invasion of the east coast of Ireland in 1169, an area that became known in the later middle ages as the Pale or Pale of Dublin from its defences in imitation of the earlier-named Pale of Calais. The authority of the Lordship of Ireland's government was never extended throughout the island of Ireland at any time during its existence but was restricted to the Pale, and some provincial towns, including Cork, Galway, Limerick, Waterford, Wexford and their hinterlands. It owed its origins to the decision of a Leinster dynast, Diarmait Mac Murchada (Diarmuid MacMorrough), to bring in a Norman knight based in Wales, Richard de Clare (alias 'Strongbow'), to aid him in his battle to regain his throne, after being overthrown by a confederation led by the new Irish High King (the previous incumbent had protected MacMurrough). Henry II of England, who reigned over England and ruled over parts of France, invaded Ireland to control Strongbow, whom he feared was becoming a threat to the stability of his own kingdom on its western fringes (there had been earlier fears that Saxon refugees might use either Ireland or Flanders as a base for a counter-offensive after 1066); ironically, much of the later Plantagenet consolidation of South Wales was in furtherance of holding open routes to Ireland.

Another reason King Henry invaded Ireland was because Pope Adrian IV had issued a papal bull authorizing the English monarch to take possession of Ireland. Religious practices in Ireland and organisation had evolved divergently from those of areas of Europe influenced more directly by the central Roman Catholic Church, although many of these differences had been eliminated or greatly lessened by the time the bull (known as Laudibiliter) was issued in 1155. Because of this, many historians argue that Henry's primary motivation for invading Ireland was to control Strongbow and other Norman lords.

The pope wanted the English king to take possession of Ireland so that he could exercise more direct control over the church in Ireland. The pope asserted the right to grant sovereignty over islands to different monarchs on the basis of a document, later found to be a forgery, called the Donation of Constantine. He gave Ireland to the English monarch as a feudal territory under the nominal overlordship of the pope. The papal bull gave the English king the title "Lord of Ireland".

Having captured a small part of Ireland on the east coast, Henry used the land to solve a dispute dividing his family. For while he had divided his territories between his sons, one son, nicknamed "John Lackland", was left without territory, hence the nickname. Henry granted John his captured Irish lands, becoming Lord of Ireland (Dominus Hiberniae) in 1185, with the territory becoming the Lordship of Ireland.

Fate, however, intervened in the form of the deaths of John/Jean's older brothers. As a result, he became King John of England, and the Lordship of Ireland, instead of being a separate area governed by a minor English prince, became a territorial possession of the English Crown.

English monarchs continued to use the title "Lord of Ireland" to refer to their position of conquered lands on the island of Ireland. The title was changed by an Act of the Irish Parliament in 1541, when on Henry VIII's demand, he was granted a new title, King of Ireland, with the state renamed the Kingdom of Ireland. Henry VIII changed his title because the Lordship of Ireland had been granted to the English monarch by the papacy and Henry had been excommunicated by the Catholic Church, which meant that the title was no longer valid. And the title was also nominally subject to the overlordship of the pope. So because of the King of England's split with Rome he had to change his Irish title. Henry VIII also wanted Ireland to be become a full kingdom to encourage a greater sense of loyalty amongst his Irish subjects. See also Earl of Dublin.

Parliaments and great Councils 1318 - 1361

• 1310, Kilkenny
• 1320, Dublin
• 1324, Dublin
• 1327, Dublin
• 1328, Kilkenny
• 1329, Dublin
• 1330, Kilkenny
• 1331, Kilkenny
• 1331, Dublin
• 1341, Dublin
• 1346, Kilkenny
• 1350, Kilkenny
• 1351, Kilkenny
• 1351, Dublin
• 1353, Dublin
• 1357, Kilkenny
• 1359, Kilkenny
• 1359, Waterford
• 1360, Kilkenny
• 1366, Kilkenny
• 1359, Dublin

See also

• List of Lords of Ireland

References

• Norman Davies, The Isles: A History (Palgrave-Macmillan, 1999) (ISBN 0-333-76370-X)
• Robin Frame; English Lordship in Ireland 1318 - 1361 (Clarendon Press, 1982) ISBN 0-19-822673-X