Monarchy of Ireland

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Monarchy has been part of Ireland’s history since ancient times. In Gaelic Ireland the land was split into several kingdoms and four provinces: Connacht, Ulster, Leinster, and Munster. The High King of Ireland was often more ceremonial than absolute, and Ireland was not a single united state.

In the late 1100s, the Norman invasion began. Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair, the last Gaelic High King, was weakened as Anglo-Norman lords gained power. By 1175, Henry II of England was recognized as the ruler over Ireland, though many English lords ruled their own lands. Over the centuries, English power in Ireland grew and shrank in different places. By the 13th century, English rule was mostly in the Pale around Dublin, while Gaelic chiefs held much of the rest.

In 1542, Henry VIII declared the Kingdom of Ireland and became its king, joining the English crown in a personal union. Later rulers maintained a personal union that connected the crowns of England, Ireland, and (after 1603) Scotland. This eventually became the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707 and later the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801.

Most of Ireland left the United Kingdom in 1922, becoming the Irish Free State, while six counties in the northeast (Northern Ireland) stayed in the United Kingdom. The Free State kept the king as head of state for a while, with a Governor-General representing the king. In 1937 a new Irish constitution replaced the Free State’s name with Ireland (Éire) and created the office of a President. In 1949, Ireland declared itself a republic and left the Commonwealth; the monarch’s official duties in Ireland ended. The Crown of Ireland Act 1542 was repealed in 1962.

Today, the British monarch remains the head of state only for Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. The Republic of Ireland has no king and is led by a president. The old Gaelic provinces and kingdoms are now part of Ireland’s historic heritage, and the four province names—Connacht, Ulster, Leinster, and Munster—remain in use.