The Irish Lord Lieutenancy

This volume addresses a significant gap in our understanding of the history of Irish governance and British-Irish relations. For over 300 years the government of Ireland was headed by the Irish 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 Irish court. Leading historians explore the multiple dimensions of the Lord Lieutenancy as an institution - political, social and cultural. They build on recent research into the historical relationship between the Britishmonarchy and Ireland and its relationship with the complex and contested state-building and nation-building activities of the colonial state, thus exploring themes in the development of British governance in Ireland that remain of continuing relevance.