Commander-in-Chief, Ireland was title of the commander of British forces in Ireland before 1922.
In the 18th and 19th centuries the British forces in Ireland were commanded by the Commander-in-Chief, Ireland. In January 1876 a ‘Mobilization Scheme for the forces in Great Britain and Ireland’ was published, with the ‘Active Army’ divided into eight army corps based on the District Commands. 4th Corps was to be formed within Irish Command, based in Dublin. This scheme disappeared in 1881, when the districts were retitled ‘District Commands.
The 1901 Army Estimates introduced by St John Brodrick allowed for six army corps based on six regional commands. As outlined in a paper published in 1903, III Corps was to be formed in a reconstituted Irish Command, with HQ at Dublin. Field Marshal HRH The Duke of Connaught was appointed acting General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOCinC) of III Corps in October 1901. The title was withdrawn in 1904.
Army Order No 324, issued on 21 August 1914, authorised the formation of a 'New Army' of six Divisions, manned by volunteers who had responded to Earl Kitchener's appeal (hence the First New Army was known as 'K1'). Each division was to be under the administration of one of the Home Commands, and Irish Command formed what became the 10th (Irish) Division. It was followed by 16th (Irish) Division of K2 in September 1914.
In the Republic of Ireland, the role nominally is held by the President of Ireland today as the supreme commander of the Defence Forces. In Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2009, the senior British military appointment was General Officer Commanding Northern Ireland.
Commanders-in-Chief, Ireland, 1700–1922
Holders of the post have included:
Lieutenant General Thomas Erle 1701–1705Lieutenant General Lord Cutts 1705–1707General William Steuart 1711–1714Lieutenant General Lord Tyrawley 1714–1721Field Marshal Lord Shannon 1721–1740Lieutenant-General Owen Wynne in 1728General Gervais Parker 1740–1750Field Marshal Viscount Molesworth 1751–1758General Lord Rothes 1758–1767Lieutenant General William Keppel 1773–1774General George Augustus Eliott 1774–1775General Sir John Irwin 1775–1782Lieutenant-General John Burgoyne 1782–1784Lieutenant-General Sir William Augustus Pitt 1784–1791General George Warde 1791–1793General Lord Rossmore 1793–1796General Lord Carhampton 1796–1798Lieutenant-General Sir Ralph Abercromby 1798General Lord Lake 1798General Lord Cornwallis 1798–1801General Sir William Medows 1801–1803General Henry Edward Fox 1803General Lord Cathcart 1803–1806General Lord Harrington 1806–1812General Lord Hopetoun 1812–1813General Sir George Hewett 1813–1816General Sir George Beckwith 1816–1820General Sir David Baird 1820–1822General Sir Samuel Auchmuty 1822Field Marshal Lord Combermere 1822–1825General Sir George Murray 1825–1828Field Marshal Lord Strafford 1828–1831Lieutenant-General Lord Vivian 1831–1836Field Marshal Sir Edward Blakeney 1836–1855Field Marshal Lord Seaton 1855–1860General Sir George Brown 1860–1865Field Marshal Lord Strathnairn 1865–1870General Lord Sandhurst 1870–1875Field Marshal Sir John Michel 1875–1880General Sir Thomas Steele 1880–1885Field Marshal HH Prince Edward of Saxe-Weimar 1885–1890Field Marshal Lord Wolseley 1890–1895Field Marshal Lord Roberts 1895–1900Field Marshal HRH The Duke of Connaught 1900–1904Field Marshal Lord Grenfell 1904–1908General Sir Neville Lyttelton 1908–1912General Sir Arthur Paget 1912–1914Major-General Sir Lovick Friend 1914–1916General Sir John Maxwell 1916Lieutenant-General Sir Bryan Mahon 1916–1918Lieutenant-General Sir Frederick Shaw 1918–1920General Sir Nevil Macready 1920–1922