Kingdom of Ireland

The Kingdom of Ireland was a monarchy on the island of Ireland that was a client state of England and then of Great Britain. It existed from 1542 until 1800. It was ruled by the King of Ireland, who were also the monarchs of England and then of Great Britain, and the kingdom was administered from Dublin Castle by a viceroy appointed by the English king: the Lord Deputy of Ireland. The Parliament of Ireland was composed of Anglo-Irish and native nobles. From 1661 until 1800, the administration controlled the Irish army. A Protestant state church, the Church of Ireland, was established. Although styled a kingdom, for most of its history it was, de facto, an English dependency. This status was enshrined in Poynings' Law and in the Declaratory Act of 1719.