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The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Irish Parliament from mediæval times to 1800. The upper house was known as the House of Lords. The Irish parliament merged with its British counterpart in 1801 under the Act of Union.
The British-apponted Irish executive, under the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, was not answerable to the Irish Parliament, though the Chief Secretary for Ireland, was usually a member of the Irish parliament. Until the 1790s, Roman Catholics were debarred from membership of the Irish Parliament, even though the vast majority of Irish subjects were Catholic.
The Irish Parliament operated under a series of severe restrictions, the most infamous of which was Poynings Law of 1492, which required that all Irish legislation first be approved by the English (later British) Privy Council before submission to the Irish parliament. In 1782, following major Irish agitation, these restrictions were removed, producing a period of legislative independence known as Grattan's Parliament, named after one of the leaders of the agitation, Henry GrattanHenry Grattan ( July 3, 1746 June 6, 1820) was a member of the Irish House of Commons and a campaigner for legislative freedom for the Irish Parliament in the late 18th century. He opposed the Act of Union 1800 that merged the Kingdoms of Ireland and Grea. The reforms of 1782 are sometimes known as the Constitution of 1782The Irish Parliament a mediaeval body made up of the Irish House of Commons and the Irish House of Lords and from which Roman Catholics had been excluded from both membership and voting for, had been subject to a number of restrictions imposed by English.
The Irish House of Commons entrance to the Parliament House. The Parliament House in DublinThis article is about the city in Ireland. For other uses of the name, see Dublin (disambiguation). Dublin ( Irish: Baile Atha Cliath is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Ireland, located near the midpoint of Ireland's east coast, at the mou was the world's first purpose-built two chamber parliament building. The façade of the British MuseumThe British Museum is one of the world's greatest and most famous museums. It was established in 1753 by Sir Hans Sloane, a physician and scientist who collected lots of literature and art, on its present site at Montague House in London, United Kingdom, in LondonLondon is the capital of the United Kingdom and of England, and with over seven million inhabitants in the Greater London area, is the second-most populous conurbation in Europe (after Moscow). From being Londinium the capital of the Roman province of Bri is modelled on it. The building is now the offices of the Bank of IrelandThe Bank of Ireland offically known as the Governor and Company of the Bank of Ireland is a commercial bank operation in the Republic of Ireland, one of the Big Four. The bank was formed by an Act of the Irish Parliament in 1782 to support public and comm.
Following the crises caused by the mental illness of King George IIIGeorge III (George William Frederick) ( 4 June 1738 29 January 1820) was King of Great Britain, and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until 1 January 1801, and thereafter King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death. He was c, when both the Irish Parliament and the Parliament of Great Britain possessed the right to name a regent for their respective kingdoms, without the requirement that they name the same regent (though in reality they did) it was decided to fundamentally reform the governmental system by merging both parliaments. 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. However, following the Union, King George III blocked emancipation, arguing that it conflicted with his coronation oath to uphold the Protestant faith. Emancipation was finally granted in 1829.
Parliament met in many locations during its seven hundred year history, which ran through the eras of the Lordship of Ireland and the Kingdom of Ireland. Though it did meet outside Dublin on some occasions, it generally met in a number of Dublin locations, notably Dublin Castle, before moving to Chichester House in Hoggen Green (now called College Green). In the 1740s the delapidated Chichester House was replaced by a new building, the world's first purpose built two chamber parliament building, which remained its home until its final meeting in August 1800. The building subsequently became the headquarters of the Bank of Ireland and though no longer its headquarters, is still its most famous branch.
Famous members of the Irish House of Commons included:
For the present-day Irish parliament, see Oireachtas Éireann, which is made of two houses, the lower house, Dáil Éireann (in English, the House of Representatives) and Seanad Éireann (the Irish Senate).
History of Ireland