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1569

By 1569, provision was made for the appointment of deputies. The Lieutenants were temporarily replaced by Governors, under Cromwell, before being reinstated by Charles II. The militias were expanded during the Napoleonic Wars. It was not until 1921 that Lord-Lieutenants officially lost the power to raise the militia, however, in practice, this power had been removed from the Lord-Lieutenant by the Regulation of the Forces Act 1871.

1921

With the establishment of Northern Ireland, in 1921, the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland was replaced by the Governor of Northern Ireland.  Lieutenants were then appointed by the Governor of Northern Ireland to the six Counties and the two County Boroughs of Belfast and Londonderry. They were known as His/Her Majesty’s Lieutenants (HML) of each County.

1831

In Ireland, there had been a Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland since the late 17th Century. They were in practice the Chief Governor of Ireland, this office had various names and was also sometimes referred to as the Viceroy. County Lieutenancies, in the British mould, were introduced in 1831 and these Lieutenants were appointed by the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. The Government of Ireland Act 1920 abolished the Irish Lieutenancies except in the north.

1973

In 1973, following the Governor of Northern Ireland being replaced by the Secretary of State, the Counties and County Boroughs were abolished as local government units, the Queen then appointed Lord-Lieutenants directly to Counties and County Boroughs, becoming the Lord-Lieutenants that we know today. The outbreaks of violence from the late 1960s deeply affected the Northern Irish Lieutenancies, with security restrictions limiting Royal visits and causing difficulties attending some public functions. However, with much personal bravery and tact, the Northern Irish Lieutenancies have emerged with an enhanced reputation.

Sourced: Association of Lord-Lieutenants and Miles Jebb’s ‘The Lord-Lieutenant and their Deputies’ (History Press, 2007)

THE ANTRIM
LIEUTENANCY

The area of the Lieutenancy corresponds with the physical boundaries of the County, but excludes the Borough of Belfast, which is a Lieutenancy in its own right. The Antrim Lieutenancy has the largest population of the County Lieutenancies and stretches from Lisburn in the south, to Portrush and Rathlin Island in the north. It includes four Borough Councils: Antrim & Newtownabbey, Lisburn and Castlereagh, Mid and East Antrim and part of Causeway Coast & Glens. Key transport hubs of Belfast International Airport and Larne Harbour fall within the Lieutenancy area.

Previous Lord-Lieutenants
​of County Antrim

• The 1st Earl O'Neill, KP, PC: 17 October 1831 – 25 March 1841
• The 3rd Marquess of Donegall, KP, GCH, PC: 24 April 1841 – 20 October 1883
• The 1st Baron Waveney: 4 December 1883 – 15 February 1886
• Sir Edward Porter Cowan: 2 April 1886 – 24 March 1890
• Sir Francis Workman-Macnaghten, 3rd Bt.: 21 May 1890 – 21 July 1911
• The 9th Earl of Shaftesbury, KP, GCVO, CBE, PC: 2 November 1911 – 1916
• The 12th Viscount Massereene, DSO: 9 June 1916 – 1938
• The 3rd Baron O'Neill: 14 April 1938 – 24 October 1944
• Senator James Leslie, PC: 12 March 1945 – 16 May 1949
• The 1st Baron Rathcavan: 22 September 1949 – 1959
• Sir Richard Dobbs, KCVO: 24 March 1959 – 1994
• The 4th Baron O'Neill, KCVO, TD: 19 April 1994 – 31 August 2008
• Mrs Joan Christie, CVO, OBE: 1 September 2008 – 28 June 2019
• Mr David McCorkell: 29 June 2019 –