Postmasters General of Ireland


The Postmasters General of Ireland, held by two people simultaneously, was a new appointment set up as part of the establishment of the Irish Post Office independent from that of Great Britain, by the Act 23, 24 George III in 1784. The post lasted nearly fifty years. The act was not repealed upon the Act of Union in 1800 but in 1831.

Act 23, 24 George III

History

While both the post offices of England and Ireland had two postmasters general, in Ireland the assent of only one was required for decisions as opposed to the assent of both being necessary in England. Besides confirming the monopoly for carrying letters in Ireland and giving the right to establish a four-mile limit penny post in Dublin, one of the postmasters general's duties was to measure the post roads in Ireland. During the time the postmasters general of Ireland existed profits in the Irish office increased from £15,000 in 1786 to £108,000 in 1831.
DateFirst Postmaster GeneralSecond Postmaster General
16 July 1784James Agar, 1st Viscount ClifdenWilliam Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby
1 January 1789Charles Loftus, 1st Viscount LoftusWilliam Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby
18 July 1789Charles Loftus, 1st Viscount LoftusCharles Coote
14 July 1797Charles Loftus, 1st Viscount LoftusCharles Moore, 1st Marquess of Drogheda
19 April 1806Richard Hely-Hutchinson, 1st Earl of DonoughmoreLord Henry FitzGerald
2 May 1807Charles O'Neill, 1st Earl O'NeillRichard Trench, 2nd Earl of Clancarty
1 December 1809Charles O'Neill, 1st Earl O'NeillLaurence Parsons, 2nd Earl of Rosse

Most of the postmasters were habitual absentees except for Richard Trench, 2nd Earl of Clancarty, who, concerned by the out-dated postal system in Ireland, sent Edward Lees, Secretary of the Irish Post Office, to London to study their modern methods of operations.
When the foundation-stone for the new General Post Office in Dublin was laid by the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Charles Whitworth, 1st Earl Whitworth, on 12 August 1814, the ceremony was attended by the incumbent Postmasters General, Charles O'Neill, 1st Earl O'Neill and Laurence Parsons, 2nd Earl of Rosse.

Termination

Curiously, the act establishing the independent Irish Post Office was not repealed upon the Act of Union in 1800, so the post continued until 6 April 1831, when the offices of Postmasters General of Ireland was abolished and consolidated into the existing single post of the Postmaster General of the United Kingdom with appointments of all officers for the Dublin office being made in London, per Act 1 William, cap 18.