List of rulers of Ireland
The list of rulers of Ireland contains the rulers and monarchs who ruled over the Irish island from the beginning of the High Middle Ages until the Act of Union of 1800 , through which the personal union between the Kingdom of Ireland and the Kingdom of Great Britain through a real union with the name " United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland ”.
The high kingship of Ireland
Early medieval Ireland was characterized by several rival clans who ruled several small kingdoms. The dominant clans belonged to the dynasty association of the Uí Néill (O'Neill), who derived their origin from the semi-legendary Irish high king Níall Noígíallach ("Niall with the nine hostages"). These were the Cenél Conaill , Cenél nÉndae , Cenél nEógain , Cenél Coirpri , Cenél Lóegaire , Clann Cholmáin , Síl nÁedo Sláine and Cenél Fiachach . There were also other clans that fought for rule in the minor kingdoms of Ailech , Mide , Connacht , Munster , Ulster and Leinster .
The first historically tangible high kings (Irish: Árd Rí na hÉireann ) did not appear until the 9th century. These were usually kings of one of the minor kingdoms who achieved a dominant position over the other minor kings or who were recognized as high kings. In fact, however, none of the high kings could ever establish sole rule on the island, since the petty kings opposed such efforts.
| Name alternative names (life data) |
Reign | clan | relationship | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Máel Sechnaill mac Máele Ruanaid († November 30, 862) |
846-862 | Clann Cholmáin | King of Mide. First historically tangible “King of all Ireland” ( ri hÉrenn uile ). | |
|
Áed Findliath Áed the good warrior († 879) |
862-879 | Cenél nEógain | Son of Niall Caille | King of Ailech. |
|
Flann Sinna Flann vom Shannon († May 25, 916) |
879-916 | Clann Cholmáin | Son of Máel Sechnaill | King of Mide. In his day the Viking incursions began on the island of Ireland. |
|
Niall Glúndub († September 14, 919) |
916-919 | Cenél nEógain | Son of Áed Findliath | King of Ailech. Fallen in the fight against Vikings. |
|
Donnachd Donn Duncan with the brown hair († 944) |
919-944 | Clann Cholmáin | Son of Flann Sinna | King of Mide. |
|
Congalach Cnogba († 956) |
944-956 | Síl nÁedo Sláine | Maternal nephew of the predecessor | King of Mide. |
|
Domnall et al. Néill († 980) |
956-980 | Cenél nEógain | Grandson of Niall Glúbdub | King of Ailech, was the first to call himself "High King of Ireland". |
|
Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill († September 2, 1022) |
980-1002 | Clann Cholmáin | Grandson of Donnchad Donn | King of Mide, defeated the Vikings at the Battle of Tara in 980, ousted by Brian Boru. |
|
Brian Boru Brian Bóruma mac Cennétig († April 23, 1014) |
1002-1014 | Dál gCais | Grandson of Donnchad Donn | King of Munster and Leinster, the first high king who did not belong to the Uí Néill, triumphed and fell against the Vikings in the Battle of Clontarf in 1014 . Brian Boru Harp , named after him, has been the coat of arms of Ireland since the 16th century . His descendants are the O'Brian . |
|
Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill († September 2, 1022) |
1014-1022 | Clann Cholmáin | ||
|
Diarmait mac Maíl na mBó († February 7, 1072) |
1022-1072 | Uí Chainnselaig | King of Leinster. | |
|
Toirdelbach Ua Briain († July 14, 1086) |
1072-1086 | Dál gCais | Grandson of Brian Boru | King of Munster. |
|
Domnall Ua Lochlainn († February 10, 1121) |
1086-1121 | Cenél nEógain | King of Ailech. | |
|
Muirchertach Ua Briain († March 10, 1119) |
1101-1119 | Dál gCais | Son of Toirdelbach | King of Munster, rose to the rank of High King in 1101. |
|
Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair († 1156) |
1120-1156 | Uí Briúin Síl Muiredaig | Maternal grandson of Toirdelbach Ua Briain | King of Connacht. |
|
Muirchertach Mac Lochlainn († 1166) |
1156-1166 | Cenél nEógain | Maternal grandson of Toirdelbach Ua Briain | King of Tyrone. |
|
Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair († 1186) |
1166-1186 | Uí Briúin Síl Muiredaig | Son of Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair | King of Connacht, last Irish high king. During his time, the Anglo-Normans began to conquer Eastern Ireland in 1169. |
English rule in Ireland
In 1169, Richard "Strongbow" de Clare, the first Anglo-Norman, took control of Irish soil by taking over the kingdom of Leinster . As early as 1172, the English King Heinrich II. Kurzmantel landed on the island and subjected the east to direct English rule. When Strongbow, initially deposed and then rehabilitated by Heinrich, died in 1176, the title passed to his underage son Gilbert , who died in 1185 at the age of 12. The title was later reassigned to his daughter Isabel's husband , Sir William Marshal , who founded the second line of the Earls of Pembroke .
After Johann Ohneland had ascended the English throne in 1199, Irish rule (Irish: Tiarnas na hÉireann , English: Lordship of Ireland ) was linked to the English crown. From then on, the English kings strove to permanently subjugate the island by establishing English administrative structures and giving land to English settlers and nobles ( Hiberno-Normans ). On the other hand, the resistance of the resident Irish population formed regularly, led by their clans, so that the English could in fact never exercise rule over the entire island for the entire Middle Ages. Irish clan rule was able to assert itself in large parts of the island.
Plantagenet House (Angevin Dynasty)
| image | Name alternative names (life data) |
Reign | relationship | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Henry II short coat Henri Court-manteau (March 5, 1133 - July 6, 1189) |
1154-1177 | Landed on the Irish island in 1172 and subjected the east to direct English rule. The island came into the territorial union of the Angevin Empire . | |
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Johann Ohneland Jean sans Terre (* December 24, 1167 - † October 19, 1216) |
1177-1216 | Son of the predecessor | Johann was named Lord of Ireland by his father in 1177. After he took over the English throne in 1199, Irish rule was permanently linked to the English crown. In the years 1185 and 1210 Johann personally led a campaign on the island to subdue its clans and to subordinate them to an English administration. The land was given to English barons and a justiciar was installed as the king's deputy. |
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Henry III. Henry of Winchester (October 1, 1207 - November 16, 1272) |
1216-1272 | Son of the predecessor | An Irish alliance arose against English rule in 1258 under Brian Ua Néill (Brian O'Neill), who was also proclaimed the High King. But the Irish were defeated in the battle of Druim-dearg in 1260, Brian fell. |
|
Eduard I. Edward Longshanks (June 17, 1239 - July 7, 1307) |
1272-1307 | Son of the predecessor | Progressive uprisings by the Irish. The English under Thomas de Clare subjugated the Principality of Thomond in 1276 , but were defeated in a battle at Glenmalure. In 1297 an Anglo-Irish parliament was installed in Dublin. |
|
Edward II Edward of Caernarfon (April 25, 1284 - September 21, 1327) |
1307-1327 | Son of the predecessor | Another uprising of the Irish clans, who crowned the Scottish king brother Edward Bruce as their high king on May 1, 1316 . The Irish win at Dysert O'Dea on May 10, 1318, but are defeated at Faughart on October 14, 1318 and Edward Bruce is killed. |
|
Edward III. (13 November 1312 - 21 June 1377) |
1327-1377 | Son of the predecessor | |
|
Richard II Richard of Bordeaux (January 6, 1367 - February 14, 1400) |
1377-1399 | Grandson of the predecessor | In 1386 he named his favorite Robert de Vere, 9th Earl of Oxford , the " Duke of Ireland ". Personally led a campaign to Ireland in 1394/95, which stabilized English rule. Moved to the island a second time in 1399, but had to break off the campaign when Henry of Bolingbroke seized the throne in England. He was the last medieval sovereign to set foot on Irish soil. |
Lancaster house
| image | Name alternative names (life data) |
Reign | relationship | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Heinrich IV. Henry of Bolingbroke (* 1366/67 - † March 20, 1413) |
1399-1413 | Grandson of Edward III. | |
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Henry V Henry of Monmouth (September 16, 1387 - August 31, 1422) |
1413-1422 | Son of the predecessor | |
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Henry VI. (6 December 1421 - 21 May 1471) |
1422-1461 | Son of the predecessor |
York House
| image | Name alternative names (life data) |
Reign | relationship | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Edward IV. Edward of York (April 28, 1442 - April 9, 1483) |
1461-1470 | Great-great-grandson of Edward III. |
Lancaster house
| image | Name alternative names (life data) |
Reign | relationship | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Henry VI. (6 December 1421 - 21 May 1471) |
1470-1471 |
York House
| image | Name alternative names (life data) |
Reign | relationship | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
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Edward IV. Edward of York (April 28, 1442 - April 9, 1483) |
1471-1483 | ||
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Eduard V. (* 1470; † probably 1483) |
1483 | Son of the predecessor | |
|
Richard III Richard of Gloucester (October 2, 1452 - August 22, 1485) |
1483-1485 | Uncle of his predecessor |
House of Tudor
| image | Name alternative names (life data) |
Reign | relationship | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Henry VII Henry Tudor (January 28, 1457 - April 21, 1509) |
1485-1509 | Great-great-great-grandson of Eduard III. | |
|
Henry VIII (June 28, 1491 - January 28, 1547) |
1509-1541 | Son of the predecessor |
The Kingdom of Ireland
It was only at the beginning of modern times under the House of Tudor that the English began to subject Ireland systematically and sustainably. The Act of the Irish Parliament , passed in 1541, defined English rule in a kingdom (English: Kingdom of Ireland ) that was in personal union with English royalty. Under the reign of Queen Elizabeth I , the Irish rebelled unsuccessfully against England in the Nine Years' War (1594–1603) . Protestantism , which was promoted by England, exacerbated the differences between the Crown and the Irish population, who adhered to Catholicism . But this could not use the overthrow of the English kingship in 1649 to gain their own freedom after the lord protector Oliver Cromwell cemented the English Protestant rule over Ireland in a bloody campaign. This was repeated in 1689 after the Glorious Revolution in the campaigns of Wilhelm III. of Orange , after which the Irish independence movement declined.
Since the sovereign of the kingdom was rarely personally present in Ireland, he was represented by the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland , who had emerged from the office of justiciars.
House of Tudor
| image | Name alternative names (life data) |
Reign | relationship | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Henry VIII (June 28, 1491 - January 28, 1547) |
1541-1547 | ||
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Edward VI. (October 12, 1537 - July 6, 1553) |
1547-1553 | Son of the predecessor | |
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Maria I. the Bloody Bloody Mary (* February 18, 1516 - November 17, 1558) |
1553-1558 | Half sister of the predecessor | |
|
Philip Philip II of Spain |
1554-1558 | Husband of Maria I. | Co-king of his wife in England and Ireland. | |
|
Elisabeth I. Elizabeth the Virgin Queen (7 September 1533 - 24 March 1603) |
1558-1603 | Half-sister of the predecessor | The Nine Years' War (1594-1603) ends for the Irish under Aodh Mór Ó Néill, 2nd Earl of Tyrone , with a defeat. |
House of Stuart
| image | Name alternative names (life data) |
Reign | relationship | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Jacob I (June 19, 1566 - March 27, 1625) |
1603-1625 | Great-great-grandson of Henry VII. | King of Scotland. In 1603 he also succeeded the throne in England and Ireland as heir to the Tudor, thus establishing the personal union between the three kingdoms. |
|
Charles I (19 November 1600 - 30 January 1649) |
1625-1649 | Son of the predecessor |
Ireland in the Commonwealth of England
| image | Name alternative names (life data) |
Reign | relationship | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Oliver Cromwell (April 25, 1599 - September 3, 1658) |
1649-1658 | As lord protector de facto ruler of republican England. Subjugated Scotland and Ireland to English rule in several campaigns ( recapture of Ireland ). Among other things, he committed the Drogheda massacre in 1649 . | |
|
Richard Cromwell (October 4, 1626 - July 12, 1712) |
1658-1659 | Son of the predecessor | Gave up the office of lord protector, followed by the restoration of the Stuart kingdom. |
House of Stuart
| image | Name alternative names (life data) |
Reign | relationship | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Charles II (May 29, 1630 - February 6, 1685) |
1660-1685 | Son of Charles I. | Crowned King of Scotland in 1651, but had to flee to France after Worcester was defeated by Cromwell. Richard Cromwell's official duties enabled the restoration of the monarchy in England in 1660 with the recognition of Parliament. However, because of his marriage to a Catholic princess, Karl came into conflict with Parliament. Was defeated in the second Anglo-Dutch War , but was able to win the colony of Nieuw Amsterdam (later New York ). |
|
Jacob II (October 14, 1633 - September 16, 1701) |
1685-1689 | Brother of the predecessor | As James VII also King of Scotland. Known as the last English king to the Roman Catholic denomination and was therefore in constant conflict with Parliament. His attempt to establish an absolutist style of rule led to his dismissal in the Glorious Revolution by his daughter and son-in-law. |
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Maria II (April 30, 1662 - December 28, 1694) and Wilhelm III. William of Orange (14 November 1650 - 19 March 1702) |
1689–1694, until 1702 Wilhelm III ruled. alone | Daughter of the predecessor and her husband | Recognized the usual laws and freedoms in England in the Bill of Rights , whereby the state took a constitutional form. Wilhelm was governor of the Netherlands. Elevated to the throne of England, Scotland (William II) and Ireland by the Glorious Revolution with his wife. Ruled in his own right after the death of his wife, asserting his kingship against the Jacobites in Scotland and Ireland ( Battle of the Boyne , 1690). In the Act of Settlement 1701, Catholics were excluded from the line of succession. Formed the great alliance against France with Habsburg . |
|
Anne (February 16, 1665 - August 12, 1714) |
1702-1714 | Sister of Maria II | Last Stuart Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland. Under her reign, England stood in the War of the Spanish Succession against France. Became the first Queen of Great Britain in 1707. |
| By the Act of Union on May 1, 1707, the personal union between England and Scotland, which had existed for a century, was dissolved and replaced by a real union . This established the Kingdom of Great Britain , which remained united with Ireland in personal union. |
House Hanover ( Welfen )
| image | Name alternative names (life data) |
Reign | relationship | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Georg I. Georg Ludwig of Hanover (7 June 1660 - 22 June 1727) |
1714-1727 | Great-grandson of Jakob I./VI. of England-Scotland | Duke of Brunswick and Lüneburg, elector of Hanover since 1698. As the son of Sophie von der Pfalz , who was favored by the Act of Settlement , he succeeded Queen Anne to the throne. Established the personal union of Great Britain and Ireland with Kurhannover. |
|
George II (November 9, 1683 - October 25, 1760) |
1727-1760 | Son of the predecessor | |
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George III (June 4, 1738 - January 29, 1820) |
1760-1801 | Grandson of the predecessor | In 1801 accepted the title of "King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland". |
| On January 1, 1801, the Act of Union of 1800 dissolved the personal union between Great Britain and Ireland that had existed for centuries and replaced it with a real union . This created the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland . |
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland / Northern Ireland
For the kings of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland / Northern Ireland (1801/1927 to date) see: List of British Monarchs .
Until the separation of the Irish Free State from the United Kingdom in 1921, the monarch continued to be represented in Ireland by the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland . Northern Ireland remained in the British state in 1921, which is why since 1927 the official name " United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland " has been used. The monarch was represented in Northern Ireland until 1972 by the Governor of Northern Ireland , whose duties were then entrusted to the newly created office of Secretary of State for Northern Ireland .
Independent Ireland (Éire)
It was not until the separation of the Irish Free State (Irish Saorstát Éireann, English Irish Free State ) in 1921 that Ireland, with the exception of six of the nine Ulster counties (Northern Ireland), gained its independence with the British King as its sovereign. This was represented until 1937 by the Governor-General of the Irish Free State . The constitution , which came into force in 1937, defined the state as a republic called "Ireland" (Éire), in which the duties of the head of state were entrusted to a president. According to the constitution, the foreign policy representation of the republic continued to rest with the British monarch as head of the Commonwealth of Nations until Ireland left the Commonwealth in the Republic of Ireland Act passed on April 18, 1949 and thus achieved its complete sovereignty after around 780 years of foreign rule.
For the Presidents of Ireland (1937 to date) see: President of Ireland (Uachtarán na hÉireann) .