The post of Lord President of Munster was the most important office in the English government of the Irish province of Munster from its introduction in the Elizabethan era for a century, to 1672, a period including the Desmond Rebellions in Munster, the Nine Years' War, and the Irish Rebellion of 1641. The Lord President was subject to the Lord Deputy of Ireland, but had full authority within the province, extending to civil, criminal, and church legal matters, the imposition of martial law, official appointments, and command of military forces.[1] Some appointments to military governor of Munster were not accompanied by the status of President. The width of his powers led to frequent clashes with the longer established courts, and in 1622 the President, Donogh O'Brien, 4th Earl of Thomond, was warned sharply not to "intermeddle" with cases which were properly the business of those courts. He was assisted by a Council whose members included the Chief Justice of Munster, another justice and the Attorney General for the Province. By 1620 his council was permanently based in Limerick.
The post was suppressed in 1672.
Early history
The position of President of Munster was created at the suggestion of Sir Henry Sidney in the late 1560s. Filling it proved troublesome initially, since the nomination in 1566 of Warham St Leger failed to get royal approval.[2] John Pollard turned down Sidney's offer, ultimately, for financial reasons. Later in 1569 Sir Edward Fitton accepted the position of Lord President of Connaught.[3] The first President to be appointed was Sir John Perrot (1568) but it took several years for him to arrive in Munster.[2] There are sources saying that Humphrey Gilbert had the title in 1569.[4]
From the late 16th or early 17th century, Shandon Castle (just outside the Cork's north gate) became an official residence associated with the office.[5] The castle was used by the administration as a residence, for court hearings, and as a place of imprisonment.[5][6][7]
Presidents of Munster
1568 John Perrot, not in Ireland until 1571, absent after 1573[8]
Carew asked to resign, and was replaced about the time James I came to the English throne. There are different, confused accounts of the transition and outcome, one from the perspective of officials in London, and another local to Munster and indeed Cork. Brouncker, President in title, over-reached his position quickly;
(I) On one account, Carew was recommending as Vice-President Oliver St John; but in fact held the post until the appointment of his successor Henry Brouncker.[10][11]
(II) On another account, Carew put his post in commission with Charles Wilmot and George Thornton. The post was taken over from them (c.1605) by Henry Becher (d. 1610). Here sources conflict.[12][13][14][15][16][unreliable source][17]
(III) Whatever the nominal position from 1606, Wilmot and Thornton again held the reins of government.[18]
1627–1642 William St Leger. After his death the position is three-cornered and unclear and the territory of Munster was in Irish hands, effectively until Cromwell's campaign of reconquest.
^Theodore William Moody, F. X. Martin, William E Vaughan, F. J. Byrne, J. R. Hill, Art Cosgrove, Dáibhí Ó Cróinín, A New history of Ireland (1984), p. 534.
^Penry Williams, The Later Tudors: England, 1547–1603 (1998), p. 269.
^Jennifer Speake, ed., Literature of Travel and Exploration: G to P (2003), p. 490.
^ abCollins, J. T. (1943). "Military Defences of Cork"(PDF). Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society. 2. 48 (167): 63, 64. Shandon Castle, on the north side of the city, was erected soon after the Anglo-Norman invasion [..] and served as a manorial feudal centre until the reign of Queen Elizabeth. Then it became official residence of the Lord President of Munster, and the vital nerve-centre of English power in the south of Ireland
^Dwyer, James (1897). "Permanent Influence of the Religious Orders"(PDF). Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society. 2. 3 (31): 298. Shandon Castle was built soon after the Conquest by one of the lords of Barrymore [..] Courts for criminal cases were frequently held there by the lord president and the judges on circuit. Persons obnoxious to the government were likewise imprisoned there
^"History of Shandon". Cork Past and Present. Cork City Libraries. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
^Letters from Sir Robert Cecil to Sir George Carew (1864, Camden Society), note p. 145.
^Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd, editor, Burke's Irish Family Records (London, U.K.: Burkes Peerage Ltd, 1976), Becher, page 100. Hereinafter cited as Burke's Irish Family Records.
^Be(e)cher's appointment by the commission is mentioned by Charles Bernard Gibson in The History of the County and City of Cork (1861), on p. 19, as occurring in 1604; and alluded to in A History of the City and County of Cork (1875) by Mary Francis Cusack, p. 345.
