This article is about the legislature abolished in 1801. For the contemporary parliament see Oireachtas and for other alternative meanings, see Irish parliament (disambiguation). The Oireachtas (ɛrʲaxt̪ˠasˠ is the "national parliament" or Legislature of Ireland, sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann.

Facade of the Irish Parliament House, in Dublin. Today the building houses a branch of the Bank of Ireland.

The Parliament of Ireland (Irish; Parlaimint na hEireann) was a legislature that existed from mediæval times until 1800. A legislature is a type of representative Deliberative assembly with the power to create amend and change Laws The law created by a legislature is called Legislation Year -of the Julian calendar. The Gregorian calendar was 11 days ahead of the Julian calendar until Friday, but 12 days ahead since Saturday. It comprised the Kingdom of Ireland and two chambers: the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The Kingdom of Ireland (Ríocht na hÉireann was the name given to the Irish state from 1541 by the Crown of Ireland Act 1542 of the Parliament of Ireland. The Irish House of Commons was the Lower house of the Parliament of Ireland, that existed from 1297 until 1800 The Irish House of Lords (Irish Teach na dTiarnai) was the Upper house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from mediæval times until 1800 The House of Lords consisted of members of the Irish peerage while the Commons was directly elected, albeit on a very restricted franchise. The Peerage of Ireland is the term used for those peers created by British monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland.

Over the centuries, the Irish parliament met in a number of locations both inside and outside of Dublin - the first place of definitive date and place was Castledermot, County Kildare on 18 June 1264 some months earlier than the English Parliament. Dublin (ˈdʌblɨn/ /ˈdʊblɨn or /ˈdʊbəlɪn/, bˠalʲə aːha klʲiəh or cliə(ɸ is both the largest city and capital of Ireland. Castledermot ( Irish: Diseart Diarmad, meaning "Dermot's Hermitage" is an inland Town in the south-east of Ireland in County Kildare County Kildare (Contae Chill Dara is an Irish County located to the southwest of Dublin in the province of Leinster. Events 618 - Coronation of the Chinese governor Li Yuan as Emperor Gaozu of Tang, the new Emperor of China, initiating three centuries The Parliament of England was the Legislature of the Kingdom of England. Among its most famous meeting places were Dublin Castle, the Bluecoat School, Chichester House and, its final permanent home, the Irish Parliament House in College Green. Dublin Castle (Caisleán Bhaile Átha Cliath off Dame Street, Dublin, Ireland, is a major Irish governmental complex formerly the fortified The King's Hospital is a Church of Ireland Co-educational fee-paying boarding and Day school. Chichester House (Teach Chichester or Carew's House (Teach Charew was a building in College Green (formerly Hoggen Green Dublin, Ireland The Irish Houses of Parliament (Tithe na Parlaiminte also known as the Irish Parliament House, today called the Bank of Ireland, College Green College Green ( Faiche an Choláiste in Irish) previously called Hoggen Green, is a three sided 'square' in the centre of Dublin.

Early history

The Irish Parliament was originally founded in 1297^[1] to represent the Irish and Anglo-Norman population of the Lordship of Ireland. The Lordship of Ireland ( 1171 - 1541) was the nominally all-island Irish state created in the wake of the Norman invasion of Ireland in 1169-71 Because most of the Gaelic Irish refused to swear allegiance to the crown, to respect the authority of the Lordship of Ireland, or to recognise common law, they were officially considered outlaws and were not eligible to either vote or stand for office. However, in the 14th and 15th centuries, shrinking numbers of those loyal to the crown, growing power of landed families, and the increasing inability to carry out judicial rulings, reduced the crown's presence in Ireland. In turn this resulted in considerable numbers of the Anglo-Irish Old English nobility joining the independent Gaelic nobles in asserting their feudal independence. The Old English (Seanghaill were the descendants of the settlers who came to Ireland from Wales, Normandy and England after the Norman Eventually the crown's power shrank to a small fortified enclave around Dublin known as the Pale. The Pale ( An Pháil in Irish) or the English Pale ( An Pháil Sasanach) was the English-controlled part of Ireland that had reduced by the late The Parliament thereafter became essentially the forum for the Pale community until the 17th century. Unable to implement and exercise the authority of the Parliament or the Crown's rule outside of this environ, and increasingly under the attack of raids by the Gaelic Irish and independent Anglo-Irish nobles, the Palesmen themselves encouraged the Kings of England to take a more direct role in the affairs of Ireland. Geographic distance, the lack of attention by the crown, and the larger power of the Gaelic Ireland, reduced the Irish Parliament to a mere figurehead. Thus, increasingly worried that the Irish Parliament was essentially being overawed by powerful landed families in Ireland like the Earl of Kildare into passing laws that pursued the agendas of the different dynastic factions in the country, in 1494, the Parliament encouraged the passing of Poynings' Law which subordinated the Irish Parliament to the English one. Earl of Kildare is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. John FitzThomas FitzGerald the eldest son of Thomas Lord Offaly, was created Earl of Kildare Poynings' Law is a parliamentary act initiated by Sir Edward Poynings in the Irish Parliament at Drogheda in 1494.

The Irish House of Commons entrance
The original entrance to the building, facing onto College Green.

The role of the Parliament changed after 1541, when Henry VIII declared the Kingdom of Ireland and embarked on the Tudor re-conquest of Ireland. Henry VIII (28 June 1491 &ndash 28 January 1547 was King of England and Lord of Ireland, later King of Ireland and claimant to the Kingdom of The Kingdom of Ireland (Ríocht na hÉireann was the name given to the Irish state from 1541 by the Crown of Ireland Act 1542 of the Parliament of Ireland. Despite an era which featured royal concentration of power and decreasing feudal power throughout the rest of Europe, King Henry VIII overruled earlier court rulings putting families and lands under attainder and recognised the privileges of the Gaelic nobles thereby expanding the crown's de jure authority. In return for recognising the crown's authority under the new Kingdom of Ireland, the Gaelic-Anglo-Irish lords had their position legalised and were entitled to attend the Irish Parliament as equals (although most members continued to be of English descent). However the Protestant Reformation introduced by the Tudor monarchs changed the nature of Irish politics, as almost all of the population of Ireland remained Roman Catholic. The Protestant Reformation was a reform movement in Europe that began in 1517 though its roots lie further back in time Many of the Irish Commons had several disputes in Parliament with the crown's authorities over the introduction of Protestantism as the state religion and over paying for the pacification of the countryside. For this reason, in 1613-15, constituencies for the Parliament were changed to allow English and Scottish Protestant colonial representatives to be elected. As a result of these additions to the Parliamentary constituencies, in conjunction with royal supporters in Parliament, the loyalist population became the majority in the Irish Parliament. Despite not recognising the Crown's authority over the Church in Ireland while continuing to recognise Papal supremacy over temporal affairs, Roman Catholics were not disbarred from voting. However, following the general uprising of the Catholic Irish in the Irish Rebellion of 1641, which featured wholesale slaughter of much of the English and Scottish population and savage reprisals by the loyalists in turn, Roman Catholics were barred from voting or attending the Parliament altogether in the Cromwellian Act of Settlement 1652. The Irish Rebellion of 1641 began as an attempted Coup d'état by Irish Catholic gentry but developed into inter communal violence between native The Act for the Settlement of Ireland imposed penalties including death and land confiscation against participants and bystanders of the Irish Rebellion of 1641 and subsequent They never fully recovered these rights for the remainder of the Parliament's existence.

However, following the death of Cromwell and the end of the Protectorate, the Stuarts returned to the throne thereby ending some of the sectarian divisions of the realm. In International law, a protectorate is a autonomous territory that is "protected" by a stronger state or entity hense the protector which engages to protect Then, during the reign of James II of England, who had secretly and finally publicly converted to Roman Catholicism, Irish Catholics briefly recovered their pre-eminent position as the crown now favoured their community. James II of England and Ireland James VII of Scotland (14 October 1633 &ndash 16 September 1701 was King of England, King of Scots, Later that same year James When James was overthrown in England, he turned to his Roman Catholic supporters in the Irish Parliament for support. In return for its support during the Williamite war in Ireland (1688-91), the Roman Catholic-dominated Irish Parliament forced James to pass legislation granting legislative autonomy to the Parliament and a restitution of the lands confiscated from Catholics in the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland (see Patriot Parliament). The Williamite War in Ireland, also known as the Jacobite War in Ireland and in Ireland as Cogadh an Dá Rí or The War of the Two Kings The Cromwellian conquest of Ireland (1649-53 refers to the re-conquest of Ireland by the forces of the English Parliament, led by Oliver Cromwell The Patriot Parliament of 1689 is the name of the Irish Parliament called by James II during the Williamite war in Ireland. However, the Jacobite defeat in this war meant that under William III of England, Protestants were returned to a favoured position in Irish society while substantial numbers of Catholic nobles and leaders in Parliament were forced to flee. Jacobitism was (and to a limited extent remains the political movement dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland William III or William of Orange (14 November 1650 &ndash 8 March 1702 He is informally known in Northern Ireland and Scotland as "King Billy" Having proven their support for Catholic absolutism by their recognition and support of James during the war, Irish Catholics faced discriminatory legislation in the Penal Laws which were passed by the predominantly loyalist and Protestant Parliament. The Penal Laws in Ireland (Na Péindlíthe refers to a series of laws imposed under British rule that sought to discriminate against Roman Catholics and Protestant dissenters in favour

Nonetheless, the franchise was still available to Catholics. Until 1728, Catholics voted in House of Commons elections and held seats in the Lords, but in that year another Jacobite uprising against the Protestant throne occurred and following which they were explicitly banned from doing so. Privileges were also mostly limited to supporters of the Church of Ireland. The Church of Ireland (Eaglais na hÉireann is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion, operating across the island of Ireland. Protestants who did not recognise the state supported Church were also discriminated against in law. Non-conformists such as Presbyterians, Congregationalists, and Quakers, had a subservient status in Parliament: after 1707 they could hold seats, but not hold public office. Nonconformism is the refusal to conform to common standards conventions rules customs traditions norms or laws Thus, the new system favoured a new Anglican establishment in Church and State.

By 1728, the remaining nobility was either firmly in the camp of the crown as Protestant or loyal Catholic. The upper classes had dropped most of its Gaelic traditions and adopted the Anglo-French aristocratic values then dominant throughout most of Europe. Much of the old feudal domains of the earlier Anglo-Irish and Gaelic-Irish magnates had been broken up and given to Irish loyalists soldiers, and English and Scottish Protestant colonial settlers. Long under the control of de jure power of magnates, the far larger peasant population had nonetheless under the relatively anarchic and sectarian conditions established a relative independence. Now, the nobility and newly established loyalist gentry could exercise their rights and privileges with more vigour and armed with penal legislation force submission from the overwhelmingly Roman Catholic and Non-Conformist peasant class. Much like England, Wales, and Scotland, the franchise was limited to a property owning class which favoured the landed gentry. With the nobility effectively under the control of the Crown, the franchise now restricted to Protestants, and office holders in general to Anglicans, the Irish Parliament was again the preserve of an Anglo-Irish elite albeit a Protestant (Anglican) one. Finally, the years of civil war in Ireland, its perennial support for various foreign expeditions aimed at England, and the Irish Parliament's inability or often acquiescence in these factors convinced the Anglican establishment to slowly alienate the Irish Parliament's powers to the British Parliament in London.

Paradoxically, these efforts to establish Anglicans as the favoured class and submit the Irish Parliament to the overwhelmingly Anglican English Parliament, in turn elevated the interests of vested networks primarily based in England and London. Thus, often the Irish Parliament was left incapable of protecting Irish economic and trade interests from being subordinated to English ones. This in turn severely weakened the economic wealth of the whole of Ireland and placed the overwhelmingly Protestant middle-class at a disadvantage. The result was a slow but continual exodus of Anglo-Irish, Scots-Irish, and Protestant Irish families and communities to the colonies principally in North America. Ironically, the very efforts to establish Anglicans as the primacy in Ireland, slowly subverted the general cause of the Protestant Irish which had been the objective of successive Irish and British Parliaments.

The Anglo-Irish Parliament did assert its independence from London several times however. In the early 18th century it successfully lobbied for Parliament to be called every two years (as opposed to on the whim of the monarch) and shortly thereafter, it declared itself to be in session permanently (mirroring developments in the English Parliament). The Parliament of England was the Legislature of the Kingdom of England. As the effects on the general prosperity of the Kingdom by submitting the Irish Parliament to review of the British Parliament became apparent, the Irish Parliament slowly reversed itself and began agitating for greater powers relative to the English Parliament. Additionally, later ministries began arguing vociferously for better Terms of Trade with Britain which eventually became a cause of support for the American colonies in the late 18th century.

Powers

After 1707, Ireland was to varying degrees subordinate to the Kingdom of Great Britain. Year 1707 ( MDCCVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world The Kingdom of Great Britain, also known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain, was a State in northwest Europe, in existence from 1707 to 1800 The Parliament of Ireland only had control over legislation, while the executive branch of government, under the Lord Lieutenant, answered to the British government in London. The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (Ard-Leifteanant na hÉireann ( Plural: Lords Lieutenant) also known as the Judiciar in the early Mediaeval period Furthermore the Penal Laws meant that Catholics, who constituted the majority of Irish people, were not permitted to sit in, or participate in elections to, the parliament. The Penal Laws in Ireland (Na Péindlíthe refers to a series of laws imposed under British rule that sought to discriminate against Roman Catholics and Protestant dissenters in favour Meanwhile building upon the precedent of Poyning's Law which made the Irish legislature subordinate to the Parliament of Great Britain, new bills were passed by the British Parliament which forbid the Irish parliament to discuss any bill without the British legislature's prior approval. Poynings' Law is a parliamentary act initiated by Sir Edward Poynings in the Irish Parliament at Drogheda in 1494. The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and Parliament of Scotland

The effects of this subordination of Irish Parliamentary power soon became evident as Ireland slowly stagnated economically and the Protestant population shrank in relative size. Additionally, the growing relative wealth of the American colonies whose local authorities were surprisingly independent of the British Parliament, provided additional ammunition for those who wished to increase Irish Parliamentary power. When the British governments started centralising trade, taxation, and judicial review throughout the Empire, the Irish Parliament saw a surprising ally in the American colonies who were growing increasingly resistant to the British government's objectives. When open rebellion broke out in the American colonies, the Irish Parliament passed several initiatives which showed support for the American grievances. Fearing another split by Ireland as rebellion spread through the American colonies and various European powers joined in a global assault on British interests, the British Parliament from sheer necessity became more acquiescent to Irish demands. In 1782, following agitation by major parliamentary figures, most notably Henry Grattan, the Irish parliament's authority was greatly increased. Year 1782 ( MDCCLXXXII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Henry Grattan (3 July 1746 &ndash 6 June 1821 was a member of the Irish House of Commons and a campaigner for legislative freedom for the Irish Parliament in the Under what became known as the Constitution of 1782 the restrictions imposed by Poyning's Law were removed. The Constitution of 1782 is a collective term given to a series of legal changes which freed the Parliament of Ireland, a mediaeval body made up of the Irish House A little over a decade later Catholics were given the right to cast votes in elections to the parliament, although they were still debarred from membership.

Organization

The Irish House of Commons by Francis Wheatley (1780). Francis Wheatley ( 1747 - June 28, 1801) was an English Portrait and Landscape painter, was born at Wild Year 1780 ( MDCCLXXX) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a

The House of Lords was presided over by the Lord Chancellor, who sat on the woolsack, a large seat stuffed with wool from each of the three lands of England, Ireland and Scotland. The Woolsack is the seat of the Lord Speaker in the House of Lords, the Upper House of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. In the Commons, business was presided over by the Speaker who, in the absence of a government chosen from and answerable to the Commons, was the dominant political figure in the parliament. The Irish House of Commons was the Lower house of the Parliament of Ireland, that existed from 1297 until 1800 Speaker Connolly remains today one of the most widely known figures produced by the Irish parliament.

Much of the public ceremonial in the Irish parliament mirrored that of the British Parliament. Sessions were formally opened by the Speech from the Throne by the Lord Lieutenant, who, it was written "used to sit, surrounded by more splendour than His Majesty on the throne of England". ^[2] The Lord Lieutenant, when he sat on the throne, sat beneath a canopy of crimson velvet. At the state opening, MPs were summoned to the House of Lords from the House of Commons chamber by Black Rod, a royal official who would "command the members on behalf of His Excellency to attend him in the chamber of peers". The Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod, generally shortened to just Black Rod, is an official in the parliaments of a number of Commonwealth countries

Engraving of section of the Irish House of Commons chamber by Peter Mazell based on the drawing by Rowland Omer 1767

Engraving of section of the Irish House of Lords chamber by Peter Mazell based on the drawing by Rowland Omer 1767

Sessions of Parliament drew many of the wealthiest of Ireland's Anglo-Irish elite to Dublin, particularly as sessions often coincided with the social season, (January to 17 March) when the Lord Lieutenant presided in state over state balls and drawing rooms in the Viceregal Apartments in Dublin Castle. The social season or Season has historically referred to the annual period when it is customary for members of the British social Elite of society to hold Debutante Events 45 BC - In his last victory Julius Caesar defeats the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus and Pompey the Younger Leading peers in particular flocked to Dublin, where they lived in enormous and richly decorated mansions initially on the northside of Dublin, later in new Georgian residences around Merrion Square and Fitzwilliam Square. Merrion Square ( Cearnóg Mhuirfean in Irish) is situated on the south side of Dublin city centre and is considered one of the city's finest Georgian Fitzwilliam Square is a small but historic Georgian square in the south of central Dublin, Ireland. Their presence in Dublin, along with large numbers of servants, provided a regular boost to the city economy.

Abolition

In 1801 the Parliament of Ireland was abolished entirely, when the Act of Union created the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and merged the British and Irish legislatures into a single Parliament of the United Kingdom. Year 1801 ( MDCCCI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting on Tuesday The phrase Act of Union 1800 (or sometimes Act of Union 1801) (Acht an Aontais 1800 is used to describe two complementary Acts whose official United Kingdom titles are The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom from 1 January 1801 until 12 April 1927 The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories

The union arose from a number of strains in Anglo-Irish relationships. In 1798 British rule in Ireland was shaken by the failed United Irishmen rebellion. Year 1798 ( MDCCXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a The Society of United Irishmen was founded as a Liberal political organisation in eighteenth century Ireland that sought Parliamentary reform The Irish Rebellion of 1798 (Éirí Amach 1798 Turn Oot 1798 or 1798 rebellion as it is known locally was an uprising in 1798 lasting several months against the The crisis over the 'madness' of King George III produced tension, as both of the King's parliaments in each of his two kingdoms possessed the theoretical right to nominate a regent, without the requirement that they choose the same person. Nonetheless the situation was resolved when both chose the Prince of Wales. Prince of Wales (Tywysog Cymru is a title traditionally granted to the Heir Apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom (and formerly the Kingdom

The result of these tensions was a British government decision that the entire relationship between Britain and Ireland should be fundamentally changed. Constitutionally it was necessary for the Act of Union to be passed by both the British and Irish parliaments before it could become law. The Irish parliament was therefore effectively asked to vote for its own abolition.

After one failed attempt, the passage of the act in the Irish parliament was finally achieved, albeit with the mass bribery of members of both houses, who were awarded British and United Kingdom peerages and other 'encouragements'. After convening for the final time on 15 January 1800, on 1 January 1801 the Kingdom of Ireland and its parliament ceased to exist. Events 588 BC - Nebuchadrezzar II of Babylon lays siege to Jerusalem under Zedekiah 's reign Year -of the Julian calendar. The Gregorian calendar was 11 days ahead of the Julian calendar until Friday, but 12 days ahead since Saturday. New Year See also New Year The Ancient Romans began their consular year on January 1st since 153 BC Year 1801 ( MDCCCI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting on Tuesday It was the last legislature in Irish history to have power to legislate for the whole island.

Part of the deal involved the concession of Catholic emancipation, which meant the removal of all remaining discriminatory laws against Catholics and faiths other than the established Church of Ireland. Catholic Emancipation (Fuascailt na gCaitliceach or Catholic Relief, was a process in Great Britain and Ireland in the late 18th century and early 19th The Church of Ireland (Eaglais na hÉireann is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion, operating across the island of Ireland. This had long been resisted by the Irish Parliament. However, following the Union, King George III blocked emancipation, arguing that it conflicted with his coronation oath to uphold the Protestant faith. George III (George William Frederick 4 June 1738 George III's long reign was marked by a series of military conflicts involving his kingdom much of the rest of Europe and places Emancipation was finally granted in 1829. For the game see 1829 (board game. Year 1829 ( MDCCCXXIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display

In the 1830s and 1840s nationalist leader Daniel O'Connell led an unsuccessful campaign for the repeal of the Act of Union and the restoration of 'Grattan's parliament'. Daniel O'Connell ( 6 August 1775 &ndash 15 May 1847) ( Dónal Ó Conaill) known as The Liberator, or The Emancipator Those advocating repeal insisted that Catholics be granted the right to sit in any restored parliament.

The Treaty of Limerick of December 1691 was delivered to the English Houses of Parliament but they failed to implement it even theogh the Orange Prince wished it to be. Since the purpose of this Treaty was to bring the Kingdom of Ireland to a peaceful state under the Orange Prince subject to conditions of religious freedom of worship and land owning, this non implementation of the Treaty prevented the Transfer of the Kingdom of Ireland to William and Mary. And arguably to the later Guelph to Windsor apointees being Protestant. It is therefore arguable that any constitutional legislation before the Good Friday Agreement, concerning the Crown of the Kingdom of Ireland and it's Parliament is ultra vires. King Henry IX being alive in 1800 and not signing the purported Act of Union 1800.

See also

• Category:Members of the pre-1801 Parliament of Ireland
• Historical Irish legislatures
• History of Ireland
• History of democracy
• List of Acts of the Parliament of Ireland
• List of Parliaments of Ireland
• Parliament of Great Britain
• Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Parliament of the modern Republic of Ireland

Notes and references

External reference

• Irish-Architecture.com - Parliament Buildings

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