The Great Seal of Northern Ireland is the seal used for Northern Ireland.

The great
seal is in the possession of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. The Great
Seal was created by the Irish Free State (Consequential Provisions) Act 1922 on the
creation of Northern Ireland for possession by the Governor of Northern Ireland to
"be used for all matters in Northern Ireland for which the Great Seal of Ireland
was theretofore used".[1]

This remained until the imposition of direct rule in 1972, followed by the
abolition of the post of Governor in 1973, when it was presented to the Secretary
of State for Northern Ireland.
Design
Seal of George V

The first Great Seal of Northern Ireland was provided in time for the state opening
of the 1924 session of the Northern Ireland Parliament.[2] Prior to this, the
Governor of Northern Ireland (James Hamilton, 3rd Duke of Abercorn) used his
private seal instead, as permitted by the 1922 act.[3] The first seal was designed
by Nevile Wilkinson, the Ulster King of Arms. The reverse was based on the Great
Seal of the Realm but with the royal coat of arms bearing an inescutcheon with a
red cross on a gold field, the basis of the historical coat of arms of Ulster and
the sinister banner on the coat of arms of Northern Ireland, also designed by
Wilkinson.[4] The design on the reverse of George VI's seal had his royal cypher in
Latin: GVR flanking the shield of arms.[5] The 1924 seal had an image of the
reigning monarch, George V. In 1985 the 1924 great seal was acquired by the
National Heritage Memorial Fund for the Ulster Museum.[2]
Seal of George VI

The British practice is to strike a new seal for a new monarch, but Edward VIII
abdicated before his Northern Ireland seal had been struck, and the 1924 seal was
not replaced until 1938 with one for George VI.[2] The design on the reverse of
George VI's seal had his royal cypher in Latin: GVIR flanking the shield of arms.
[5]
Seal of Elizabeth II

The new seal for Elizabeth II was delivered to the Governor, John Loder, 2nd Baron
Wakehurst, on 5 November 1953 at a meeting of Privy Council of Northern Ireland,
whereupon the obsolete seal of her father George VI was ceremonially defaced with a
hammer by the Clerk of the Council and gifted to the Governor.[6]

The design on the obverse of Elizabeth II's seal is the same as on the obverse of
her Great Seal of the Realm, with an equestrian portrait of the queen in the
uniform of the Grenadier Guards, the royal cypher in Latin: EIIR beneath a St
Edward's Crown below the horse, and the circumscription in Latin: elizabeth · ii ·
d·g· britt· regnorvmqve · svorvm · ceter· regina · consortionis · popvlorvm ·
princeps · f·d·, lit. 'Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of the Britains
and of her other realms Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith'.[7]

The design on the reverse has a shield of arms emblazoned with the royal arms of
the United Kingdom as used in Northern Ireland (with its inescutcheon of the arms
of Ulster) surmounted by a Tudor Crown. The crowned shield is wreathed by a floral
pattern including the Irish shamrock, the English Tudor rose, and the Scottish
thistle. The reverse lacks the royal cypher.[7]
Uses

Letters patent by the monarch under the Great Seal of Northern Ireland are used for
the following:

Senior judicial appointments to the courts of Northern Ireland, including the

Lord Chief Justice, Lords Justice of Appeal, and High Court judges.[8]
 Royal assent to bills of the Northern Ireland Assembly.[9]

All justices of the peace for Northern Ireland are appointed under a single
commission of the peace; the commission was issued under the Great Seal of Northern
Ireland, whereas the instrument appointing a justice is issued by the Department of
Justice without the seal.[10]
Wafer seals

The Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1945 authorised the preparation
and use of a die bearing the same device as the obverse of the seal, and the
impression embossed by means of the die on, or on a wafer or other material
attached to, a document confers on the document the same validity in all respects
as if it had been authenticated by, or passed under, the Great Seal itself.[11]
Section 49 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 makes similar provision for the
creation of wafer versions of the Great Seal of Northern Ireland, which is valid
for use on letters patent signifying royal assent to bills of the Northern Ireland
Assembly. The wafer seals are used by the First Minister and Deputy-First Minister
acting jointly.
List of Keepers of the Great Seal of Northern Ireland

The following are Keepers of the Great Seal, who served as Governor of Northern
Ireland (1922–1973):

1922 James Hamilton, 3rd Duke of Abercorn

1945 William Leveson-Gower, 4th Earl Granville
1952 John Loder, 2nd Baron Wakehurst
1964 John Erskine, 1st Baron Erskine of Rerrick
1968 Ralph Grey, Baron Grey of Naunton

The following are Keepers of the Great Seal, who served as Secretary of State for
Northern Ireland (1973–present):

1973: William Whitelaw

1973: Francis Pym
1974: Merlyn Rees
1976: Roy Mason
1979: Humphrey Atkins
1981: Jim Prior
1984: Douglas Hurd
1985: Tom King
1989: Peter Brooke
1992: Sir Patrick Mayhew
1997: Mo Mowlam
1999: Peter Mandelson
2001: John Reid
2002: Paul Murphy
2005: Peter Hain also Welsh Secretary
2007: Shaun Woodward
2010: Owen Paterson
2012: Theresa Villiers
2016: James Brokenshire
2018: Karen Bradley
2019: Julian Smith
2020: Brandon Lewis
2022: Shailesh Vara
2022: Chris Heaton-Harris

See also
 Great Seal of the Irish Free State
Great Seal of the Realm

References

Irish Free State (Consequential Provisions) Act 1922, Schedule, paragraph 2(4).
"First Great Seal of Northern Ireland". www.nhmf.org.uk. National Heritage Memorial
Fund. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
e.g. "Letters Patent for the Appointment of Justices to Act During the Absence of
the Governor of Northern Ireland". The Belfast Gazette (161): 880. 25 July 1924.
Retrieved 26 August 2019.
de Vries, Hubert (3 October 2017). "Northern Ireland". www.hubert-herald.nl.
Retrieved 26 August 2019.
"Royal Mint Annual Report 1938 Volume No.69". The Royal Mint Museum. p. 45.
Retrieved 18 October 2023.
"North has new Great Seal". The Irish Times. 6 November 1953. p. 5. Retrieved 18
March 2020.
"Royal Mint Annual Report 1953 Volume No.84". The Royal Mint Museum. p. 15.
Retrieved 18 October 2023.
Judicature (Northern Ireland) Act 1978, section 12, as substituted by the Northern
Ireland Act 2009
Northern Ireland Act 1998, section 5(3).
"Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 2015". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 29 August
2019.

Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1945, section 3.

Categories:

National sealsGovernment of Northern IrelandLaw of Northern IrelandSymbols

introduced in 19241924 establishments in Northern Ireland

This page was last edited on 18 October 2023, at 20:43 (UTC).

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