Irish House of Commons explained

Irish House of Commons
Coa Pic:	Arms of Ireland (historical).svg
Coa Res:	150px
House Type:	Lower house
Established:	1297
Succeeded By:	House of Commons of the United Kingdom
Disbanded:	1 January 1801
Leader1 Type:	Speaker of the House
Leader1:	John Foster (1785–1800)
Members:	300
Voting System1:	First past the post with limited suffrage
Session Room:	The_Irish_House_of_Commons_in_1780_by_Francis_Wheatley.jpg
Session Res:	220px
Meeting Place:	The House of Commons in session (by Francis Wheatley, 1780)

The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until the end of 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive franchise, similar to the unreformed House of Commons in contemporary Great Britain. Catholics were disqualified from sitting in the Irish parliament from 1691, even though they comprised the vast majority of the Irish population.

The Irish executive, known as the Dublin Castle administration, under the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, was not answerable to the House of Commons but to the British government. However, the Chief Secretary for Ireland was usually a member of the Irish parliament. In the Commons, business was presided over by the Speaker.

From 1 January 1801, it ceased to exist and was succeeded by the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.

Franchise

The limited franchise was exclusively male. From 1728 until 1793, Catholics were disfranchised, as well as being ineligible to sit in the Commons. Most of the population of all religions had no vote. In counties, forty-shilling freeholders were enfranchised while in most boroughs it was either only the members of self-electing corporations or a highly restricted body of freemen that were eligible to vote for the borough's representatives. The vast majority of parliamentary boroughs were pocket boroughs, the private property of an aristocratic patron.

Abolition

The House of Commons was abolished under the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Ireland into the Kingdom of Great Britain to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland with effect from 1 January 1801. The Irish House of Commons sat for the last time in Parliament House, Dublin on 2 August 1800. One hundred of its members were designated or co-opted to sit with the House of Commons of Great Britain, forming the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The patron of pocket boroughs that were disfranchised under the Act of Union was awarded £15,000 compensation for each.^[1]

Speaker of the Commons

See main article: article and Speaker of the Irish House of Commons. The Speaker of the Irish House of Commons was the presiding officer of the House and its most senior official. The position was one of considerable power and prestige, and in the absence of a government chosen from and answerable to the Commons, he was the dominant political figure in the Parliament. The last Speaker was John Foster.

Constituencies

The number of boroughs invited to return members had originally been small (only 55 Boroughs existed in 1603) but was doubled by the Stuart monarchs. By the time of the Union, there were 150 constituencies, each electing two members:

32 county constituencies;
8 county borough constituencies;
109 borough constituencies;
1 university constituency (Dublin University).

Following the Act of Union, from 1801, there were 100 MPs from Ireland in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The constituencies were adapted from those in the Irish House of Commons as follows:

32 county constituencies, with two MPs each;
2 county borough constituencies, Cork City and Dublin City, both with two MPs;
31 county borough and borough constituencies, with one MP each;
1 university constituency, with one MP.

Constituency	County	Creation	Franchise	Fate after the union
data-sort-value="antrim"			1570^[2]	Freeholders	Two seats
		1666		Disfranchised
		1378	Corporation	Disfranchised
		1639?	Corporation	Disfranchised
		By 1560^[3]		Previously disfranchised
data-sort-value="armagh"			1585 (September)^[4]	Freeholders	Two seats
		1613 (26 March) ^[5]		One seat
		1613 (30 March)	Corporation	Disfranchised
		By 1560	Manor	Disfranchised
		1310?	Corporation	Disfranchised
		1606 (10 December)	Corporation	One seat
		By 1560	Corporation	Disfranchised
		1613 (15 April)	Corporation	Disfranchised
		1612 (10 December)	Corporation	Disfranchised
		1613 (23 March)	Corporation	Disfranchised
		1613 (25 March)		Disfranchised
		1664	Corporation	Disfranchised
		1629	Corporation	Disfranchised
		1613 (30 March)	Corporation	One seat
		1613 (18 March)	Corporation	Disfranchised
		data-sort-value="1614"	Between 1614 and 1634	Corporation	Disfranchised
		1613 (27 April)	Corporation	One seat
		1613 (30 March)	Corporation	Disfranchised
		1670	Corporation	Disfranchised
		1613 (25 March)	Corporation	Disfranchised
		By 1585	Corporation	Disfranchised
		data-sort-value="1300"	13?	Corporation	Disfranchised
data-sort-value="carlow"			1297^[6]	Freeholders	Two seats
		1613 (19 April)	Corporation	One seat
		1613 (30 March)	Corporation	Disfranchised
		1326	Freeholder and householder	One seat
		1629	Corporation	Disfranchised
		By 1585	Corporation	One seat
		1613 (26 March)	Corporation	Disfranchised
		1676	Corporation	Disfranchised
data-sort-value="cavan"			1579^[7] or 1584^[8]	Freeholders	Two seats
		1610 (15 November)	Corporation	Disfranchised
		1613 (29 April)	Corporation	Disfranchised
		1673	Corporation	Disfranchised
data-sort-value="clare"			By 1560	Freeholders	Two seats
		By 1613	Ecclesiastical corporation - Bishop's borough	Disfranchised
		1613 (5 March)	Corporation	Disfranchised
		By 1560	Corporation	One seat
		data-sort-value="1614"	Between 1614 and 1634	Corporation	Disfranchised
data-sort-value="coleraine"			1585 (September)	Freeholders	Previously disfranchised
		1613 (25 March)		One seat
	Multiple	1297		Previously disfranchised
		1297	Freeholders	Two seats
	Cork	1299	Freeholder and Freemen	Two seats
		By 1585	Corporation	Disfranchised
data-sort-value="donegal"			1585 (September)	Freeholders	Two seats
		1613 (27 February)	Corporation	Disfranchised
		1640	Manor	Disfranchised
data-sort-value="down"			1570	Freeholders	Two seats
		By 1585		One seat
		1299	Freeholders and freemen	One seat
data-sort-value="dublin"			1297	Freeholders	Two seats
		1299	Freeholders and freemen	Two seats
		1613	Graduates	One seat
		data-sort-value="1615"	Between 1614 and 1661	Corporation	Disfranchised
		By 1560	Corporation	One seat
		1612 (27 November)	Corporation	One seat
		By 1560		One seat
		1679	Corporation	Disfranchised
		1613 (27 February)	Corporation	One seat
		1613 (25 May)	Corporation	Disfranchised
		1613 (27 February)	Corporation	One seat
data-sort-value="fermanagh"			1585 (September)	Freeholders	Two seats
		By 1579^[9]	Freeholders	Previously disfranchised
		1613 (15 April)	Corporation	Disfranchised
		1613 (15 April)	Corporation	Disfranchised
		data-sort-value="1614"	Between 1614 and 1634	Corporation	Disfranchised
data-sort-value="galway"			By 1579 ^[10]	Freeholders	Two seats
		By 1560	Freemen	One seat
Gorey (also Newburgh)		1620	Corporation	Disfranchised
		1608 (15 September)	Corporation	Disfranchised
		1679	Manor	Disfranchised
		1684	Corporation	Disfranchised
		1662	Corporation	Disfranchised
		By 1585	Corporation	Disfranchised
		1622	Corporation	Disfranchised
		By 1560	Corporation	Disfranchised
data-sort-value="kerry"			1297	Freeholders	Two seats
		1613 (27 February)	Corporation	Disfranchised
data-sort-value="kildare"			1297	Freeholders	Two seats
		By 1560	Corporation	Disfranchised
		1299?	Freeholders and Freemen	One seat
data-sort-value="kilkenny"			1297	Freeholders	Two seats
		1616	Corporation	Disfranchised
		1613 (10 March)	Corporation	Disfranchised
		By 1560	Corporation	Disfranchised
		1556^[11] ^[12]	Freeholders	Two seats
		1334?	Corporation and Freemen	One seat
		1665		Disfranchised
		1642	Corporation	Disfranchised
		1583	Freeholders	Two seats
		1613 (27 February)	Corporation	Disfranchised
data-sort-value="limerick"			1297	Freeholders	Two seats
		1299	Freeholders and Freemen	One seat
		1661		One seat
		1613 (6 May)	Manor	Disfranchised
		1613	Freeholders	Two seats
		1613 (29 March)	Corporation	One seat
data-sort-value="longford"			1571^[13] ^[14] ^[15]	Freeholders	Two seats
		1669	Corporation	Disfranchised
data-sort-value="louth"			1297	Freeholders	Two seats
		1613 (27 February)	Manor	One seat
		1571	Corporation	Disfranchised
data-sort-value="mayo"			By 1579	Freeholders	Two seats
data-sort-value="meath"			1297	Freeholders	Two seats
		1671	Corporation	Disfranchised
data-sort-value="monaghan"			1585 (September)	Freeholders	Two seats
		1613 (26 March)	Corporation	Disfranchised
		By 1560	Manor	Disfranchised
		By 1560	Corporation	Disfranchised
		1469	Corporation	Disfranchised
		By 1560	Corporation	One seat
		1613 (30 March)	Corporation	Disfranchised
		1613 (27 February)		One seat
		1613 (30 March)	Corporation	Disfranchised
		1613 (25 March)	Corporation	Disfranchised
		data-sort-value="1614"	Between 1614 and 1634	Ecclesiastical corporation - Bishop's borough	Disfranchised
		1571	Corporation	Disfranchised
		1668	Corporation	One seat
		1556	Freeholders	Two seats
		1683		Disfranchised
		data-sort-value="1615.5"	Between 1614 and 1692	Potwalloper / Manor	Disfranchised
		data-sort-value="1615"	Between 1614 and 1661	Manor	Disfranchised
data-sort-value="roscommon"			1297	Freeholders	Two seats
		1613 (27 February)	Corporation	Disfranchised
		data-sort-value="1615"	Between 1614 and 1661		Disfranchised
		1618	Corporation	Disfranchised
		1628	Corporation	Disfranchised
data-sort-value="sligo"			By 1579	Freeholders	Two seats
		1613 (30 March)	Corporation	One seat
		1613 (18 March)	Corporation	Disfranchised
		By 1585		Disfranchised
		data-sort-value="1614"	Between 1614 and 1634	Corporation	Disfranchised
		1613 (1 May)		Disfranchised
		1541	Corporation	Disfranchised
data-sort-value="tipperary"			1297	Freeholders	Two seats
		By 1585	Freeholders	Previously disfranchised
		1613 (31 March)	Corporation	One seat
		By 1560	Corporation	Disfranchised
		1613 (30 March)	Corporation	Disfranchised
		1663	Corporation	Disfranchised
data-sort-value="tyrone"			1585 (September)	Freeholders	Two seats
	Multiple	1297		Previously disfranchised
data-sort-value="Waterford"			1297	Freeholders	Two seats
		1299	Freemen and freeholders	One seat
data-sort-value="westmeath"			1543^[16] ^[17]	Freeholders	Two seats
data-sort-value="wexford"			1297	Freeholders	Two seats
		By 1560	Freemen	One seat
data-sort-value="wicklow"			1577;^[18] 1606^[19]	Freeholders	Two seats
		1613 (30 March)	Corporation	Disfranchised
		1374	Corporation and Freemen	One seat

Notes:

Means of resignation

Until 1793 members could not resign their seats. They could cease to be a member of the House in one of four ways:

death,
expulsion,
taking Holy Orders, or
being awarded a peerage and so a seat in the Irish House of Lords.
Standing down at election to the House.

In 1793 a means for resignation was created, equivalent to the Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds or the Manor of Northstead as a means of resignation from the British House of Commons. From that date, Irish members could be appointed to the Escheatorship of Munster, the Escheatorship of Leinster, the Escheatorship of Connaught or the Escheatorship of Ulster. Possession of one of these Crown offices, "office of profit under the Crown" with a 30-shilling salary, terminated one's membership of the House of Commons.

Notable members

Henry Grattan

leader of the Irish Patriot Party.

Boyle Roche

The "father" of Irish bulls

Hon. Arthur Wellesley

Later became Duke of Wellington, defeated Napoleon at Waterloo, and served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He represented his family borough of Trim from 1790 to 1798.

William Conolly

Speaker from 1715 to 1729. Conolly was notable not just for his role in parliament but also for his great wealth that allowed him to build one of Ireland's greatest Georgian houses, Castletown House.

Nathaniel Clements

1705–77 Government and Treasury Official, Managed extensive financial functions from 1720 to 1777 on behalf of the government, Latin: de facto minister for finance 1740–77, extensive property owner and developer. A major influence on the architecture of Georgian Dublin and the Irish Palladian country house.

John Philpot Curran

Orator and wit, originator of the phrase "Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty".

Sources

Mary Frances Cusack, Illustrated History of Ireland, Project Gutenberg
Book: History of the Irish parliament, 1692–1800 . Edith Mary. Johnston-Liik . Ulster Historical Foundation . 2002 . Belfast .
Book: Johnston-Liik, Edith Mary. MPs in Dublin: Companion to the History of the Irish Parliament 1692-1800 . Ulster Historical Foundation . 2006. Belfast. 1903688604.
Book: McGrath, Charles Ivar. The making of the 18th century Irish Constitution: Government, Parliament and the Revenue, 1692-1714. Dublin. Four Courts Press. 2000. 1-85182-554-1.
Book: Magennis, Eoin. The Irish Political System 1740-1765. Dublin. Four Courts Press. 2000. 1-85182-484-7.
Moody/Vaughan, A new history of Ireland, Oxford, 1986, and
Book: Return of the name of every member of the lower house of parliament of England, Scotland, and Ireland, with name of constituency represented, and date of return, from 1213 to 1874 . C. . 69-I . 1878 . HMSO .

External links

Members Name Search (Commons and Lords, 1692–1800) Irish Legislation Database, Queen's University Belfast
History of the Irish Parliament: Constituencies Ulster Historical Foundation
Journals of the House of Commons of Ireland (proceedings from 1613)
- Index page for 14 volumes at HathiTrust
- large (~1 GB) PDF scans of 21 volumes from Oireachtas library) Index Vol.1 Index Vol.2 Vol.2 Vol.3 Vol.4 Vol.5 Vol.6 Vol.7 Vol.8 Vol.9 Vol.10 Vol.11 Vol.12 Vol.13 Vol.14 Vol.15 Vol.16 Vol.17 Vol.17 (Appendix) Vol.18 Vol.19 Vol.19 (Appendix)

Notes and References

Book: Porritt, Edward. The Unreformed House of Commons. Parliamentary Representation Before 1832. 23 July 2013. 1963. CUP Archive. 185–187.
https://archive.org/stream/reportofdeputyke1113irel#page/n237/mode/2up Fiants Ire. Eliz. No 1530
Book: Hardiman, James . James Hardiman . A Statute of the fortieth Year of Edward III., enacted in a Parliament held in Kilkenny, A. D. 1367, before Lionel Duke of Clarence, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. Now first printed from a MS.in the Library of his Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury, Lambeth. With a Translation and Notes . https://archive.org/stream/tractsrelatingto02irisuoft#page/n316/mode/1up . Tracts relating to Ireland. II. 1842. Irish Archaeological Society. Dublin. Appendix III: The lordes spirituall and temporall, counties, cytties, and borough-townes, as are answerable to the Parlyament in this realme of Ireland ; and souche as weare sommoned unto the Parlyament holden before the right honorable Sir John Perrot, knyght, Lord Deputie Generall of the realme of Ireland, xxvi. die Aprilis, anno regni Regine nostre Elizabeth, vicesimo septimo. A. D. 1585..
Book: Moody, T.W. . Martin, F.X. . Byrne, F.J. . Early Modern Ireland, 1534-1691 . Oxford University Press. 1991. 166. 9780198202424 . Inquisitionum in Officio Rotulorum Cancellariae Hiberniae Asservatarum Repertorium (Repertory of the Inquisitions of the Chancery of Ireland) Volume II, page xix 'An Order for the division, setting out and appoyntinge of the boundes, lymytts and circuits of sixe severall sheires or countyes within the pvince of Ulster within this realme of Ireland, viz. the countye of Tyron, the countye of Donnyngall, the countye of Fermanaghe, the countye of Colrane, the countye of Armaghe and the countye of Monohon ... the firste of September anno dei 1585, annoque d[omi]n[a]e Regin[a]e Elizabeth', 27mo'
Moody . T.W. . The Irish Parliament under Elizabeth and James I . Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy . 45 . 1939 . 6 . 72–76.
Book: Betham, William . William Betham (1779–1853) . 1830 . Dignities, Feudal and Parliamentary . London . Thomas and William Boone . 262 .
https://archive.org/stream/calendarireland02greauoft#page/184/mode/2up "Turlough Lynagh (O'Neill)'s pretence to harm ... the new made county of Cavan" Proceedings and orders of the Chancellor, Council and Gentlemen of Meath and Dublin, August 21 1579, Calendar of the State Papers relating to Ireland, of the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI., Mary, and Elizabeth, Volume 2, 1574-1585 page 184
https://archive.org/stream/calendarireland02greauoft#page/537/mode/2up "O'Reilly's country erected into the County of Cavan" Lord Deputy Perrot to Walsyngham, 16 November 1584, Calendar of the State Papers relating to Ireland, of the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI., Mary, and Elizabeth, Volume 2, 1574-1585 page 537
Book: Moody, T.W. . Martin, F.X. . Byrne, F.J. . A New History of Ireland, Vol IX, Maps, Genealogies, Lists. Oxford University Press. 1984. 108.
https://archive.org/stream/achorographical00oflgoog#page/n321/mode/2up "Orders to be observed by Sir Nicholas Malby, Knight, for the better government of the Province of Connaght" Printed in O'Flaherty's Chorographical Description of West Or H-Iar Connaught: Written A.D. 1684 ed. Hardiman, P. 304
https://opac.oireachtas.ie/Data/Library7/Library1/DC900041.pdf An Act "whereby the King and Queen's Majesties, and the Heires and Successors of the Queen, be entituled to the Counties of Leix, Slewmarge, Irry, Glinmaliry, and Offaily, and for making the same Countries Shire Grounds."
”Book: Falkiner , Caesar Litton . Illustrations of Irish history and topography, mainly of the seventeenth century . 1904 . . London . 118–9 . 1-144-76601-X.
https://archive.org/details/reportofdeputyke1113irel/page/n229/mode/2up?view=theater Fiants Ire. Eliz. No 1486
Book: Maginn, Christopher. William Cecil, Ireland, and the Tudor State . Oxford. 2012. 194. 978-0-19-969715-1 .
https://archive.org/stream/calendarireland01greauoft#page/440/mode/2up "The Annaley, formerly governed by O’Farrale Bane and O’Farrale Boy, is erected into a shire called Longford." Lord Chancellor and Council to the Queen, March 23, 1571,Calendar of the State Papers relating to Ireland, of the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI., Mary, and Elizabeth, Volume 1, 1509-1573, page 440
Counties of Meath and Westmeath Act 1543 (294/554) 34 Hen. 8. c. 1 (I) An Act for the division of Methe into two shires.
Book: Falkiner , Caesar Litton . Illustrations of Irish history and topography, mainly of the seventeenth century . 1904 . . London . 117 . 1-144-76601-X.
https://archive.org/stream/reportofdeputyke1113irel#page/26/mode/2up/search/Wicklowe Fiants Ire. Eliz. No 3003, 22 March 1577
Book: Moody. T. W.. Theodore William Moody. Martin. F. X. . F. X. Martin. Byrne. F. J. . Francis John Byrne. Early Modern Ireland, 1534-1691 . Oxford University Press. 1991. 166. 9780198202424 .