Secretary of State (Ireland)


The Principal Secretary of State, or Principal Secretary of the Council, was a government office in the Kingdom of Ireland. It was abolished in 1801 when Ireland became part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland under the Acts of Union 1800.
The post was created in May 1560 by the Lord Deputy of Ireland, Thomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex. Sussex created the role to help re-establish English governance in Ireland, as part of the wider Tudor conquest of Ireland. The role was modelled in part on the role of Secretary of State in England, and was intended to be distinct from the clerks of the Irish Privy Council or the Governors Private Secretary.
Whilst the nature of the role evolved other time, originally the holder was expected to:
Other, less common functions included:
In part due to the absence of Southwell during his time in the role, over time the role became largely ceremonial, with more correspondence being managed directly by the Lord Lieutenant and their Chief Secretary, or alternatively the Lord Justices. Richard Cooke, for instance, acted as both Chancellor of the Exchequer and Secretary of State at the same time. The last three Secretary's also held the more powerful positions of Chief Secretary, but the role was only finally ceased to exist after the 1800 Acts of Union when the last Secretary resigned to take up the position of Speaker of the House of Commons.

List of Secretaries