Essex Bridge and Atlantic Waves
George II remained king, while the Irish administration changed hands. On 2 April William Cavendish, then Marquess of Hartington, was appointed lord lieutenant of Ireland. He was only in his mid-thirties and was a prominent British whig rather than an Irish political figure. In December, following his father’s death, he became the fourth duke of Devonshire while still holding the Irish viceroyalty. The appointment mattered because Dublin Castle was the channel through which crown patronage, military authority and the management of parliament were organised. It did not, however, signal a dramatic new Irish programme in 1755.