The abolition of the position of
Lord Chief Justice of Ireland was originally envisaged in a draft of the
Government of Ireland Bill 1920. The Bill originally proposed that the
Lord Chief Justice of Ireland would become the
Lord Chief Justice of Southern Ireland. However, the then incumbent, Sir
Thomas Molony, 1st
Baronet, vigorously lobbied for the right to continue to hold the title even after the Bill was passed. Ultimately, his arguments were at least in part accepted: The Act, in its transitional provisions, provided that while he would in effect be the first Lord Chief Justice of Southern Ireland, his title remained that of
Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, although this was a transitional provision and was not a right to be enjoyed by his successors. Subsequently, the highest-ranking judicial posting in Ireland, that of
Lord Chancellor of Ireland, was abolished in December 1922. This left the office of the Lord Chief Justice of Ireland as the most senior judge in the
Irish Free State but not for very long. The
Constitution of the Irish Free State adopted in December 1922 clearly envisaged the early establishment of new courts for the nascent state and the abolition of the position of the Lord Chief Justice of Ireland. However, this only took place when the Courts of Justice Act 1924 was finally adopted. Under that Act, the position of the
Chief Justice of the Irish Free State superseded the position of Lord Chief Justice of Ireland as the highest judicial office in the Irish Free State. In what became
Northern Ireland, the position was superseded by the position of
Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland. ==List of holders==