- For the other body sometimes called the "Irish House of Commons", see House of Commons of Southern Ireland.
The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland, that existed from mediæval times until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a very restrictive franchise. Most notably, Roman Catholics were disqualified from sitting in the Irish parliament, even though they comprised the vast majority of the Irish population. From about 1716 until 1793, they were also disfranchised.
The British appointed Irish executive, 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 who, in the absence of a government chosen from and answerable to the Commons, was the dominant political figure in the parliament. The House of Commons was abolished when the Irish parliament merged with its British counterpart in 1801 under the Act of Union.
Famous members
- Henry Grattan — went on to serve as an Irish member of the United Kingdom House of Commons.
- 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, County Meath from 1790-1796.
- William Conolly — a past Speaker, Conolly remains today one of the most widely known figures ever to be produced by the Irish parliament. He is famous 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 , 1705-1777 Government and Treasury Official, Managed extensive financial functions from 1720 - 1777 on behalf of the Government, de facto Minister for Finance 1740 - 1777, extensive property owner and developer. major influence on the architecture of Georgian Dublin and the Irish Palladian Country house.
- John Philpot Curran — orator and wit, originator of the quotation "Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty."
Speakers (1689-1800)
- 1557, 1560 & 1568: James Stanyhurst
- 1661-????: Sir John Temple
- 1689-1692: Sir Richard Nagle
- 1692-1695: Sir Richard Levinge
- 1695-1703: Robert Rochfort
- 1703-1710: Alan Brodrick
- 1710-1713: John Foster
- 1713-1715: Alan Brodrick
- 1715-1729: William Conolly
- 1729-1733: Sir Ralph Gore
- 1733-1756: Henry Boyle
- 1756-1771: John Ponsonby
- 1771-1785: Edmund Sexton Perry
- 1785-1800: John Foster
Constituencies
The House was elected in the same way as the British House of Commons. By the time of the Union, the shape of the House had been fixed with two members elected for each of the 32 Counties of Ireland, two members for each of 117 Boroughs, and two members for Dublin University, a total of 300 members. 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.
Sessions
Parliaments of Henry VIII
Parliament 1536-1537
Parliament 1541-1543
- Trim Session 1542
Parliaments of Elizabeth I
| Number | Opened | Dismissed | Speaker | Sessions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 January 1559 | 1 February 1559 | ? | |
| 2 | 17 January 1568 | 25 April 1571 | ? |
Members:
- Sir Edmond Butler
- Sir Christopher Barnwall
| Number | Opened | Dismissed | Speaker | Sessions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 26 April 1585 | 14 May 1586 | Nicholas Walsh | ? |
Members:
- Sir Richard Bingham
- Sir Warham St. Ledger
Parliaments of James I
| Number | Opened | Dismissed | Speaker | Sessions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ? | 18 May 1613 | 24 October 1615 | ? |
Members:
- Sir John Davies
- Sir John Everard, (Catholic d. 1624)
- Sir James Gough, Waterford
Parliaments of Charles I
| Number | Opened | Dismissed | Speaker | Sessions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 July 1634 | 18 April 1635 | ? |
Members:
- Patrick Darcy
- Sir Edward Fitzharris
- Maurice Fitzgerald
- Sir Henry Lynch
- Sir Thomas Luttrell
- Richard Martin
- Nicholas Plunkett
- Sir William Sarsfield
- Sir Nicholas White
| Number | Opened | Dismissed | Speaker | Sessions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 16 March 1639 (prorogued 1641) | 30 January 1649 | ? |
Members:
- Nicholas Barnewall, Catholic
- Patrick Barnewall,Trim
- John Bellew
- Sir Richard Blake, Galway
- Sir Piers Crosby
- Geoffrey Browne, Cathoic
- Thomas Burke, Catholic, Mayo
- Oliver Cashell, Louth
- William Cole, Protestant, Fermanagh, d. 1653
- Simon Digby, Protestant
- Sir Maurice Eustace, Speaker, Protestant
- Richard Fitzgerald, Protestant, Strabane
- Sir Roebuck Lynch
- Donagh MacCarthy, Viscount Muskerry, Catholic
- Richard Bellings, Catholic
- Sir Phelim O'Neill, Catholic
- James Montgomery, Protestant
- Nicholas Plunkett, Catholic, Meath
- Edward Rowley, Protestant
- Hardress Waller, Protestant
- John Walsh, Catholic
Parliament of Charles II
| Number | Opened | Dismissed | Speaker | Sessions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 May 1661 | 7 August 1666 | ? |
Members:
- Nicholas Plunkett, Meath
- Sir Audley Mervyn, Tyrone
- Sir Maurice Eustace, Speaker
Parliaments of James II
| Number | Opened | Dismissed | Speaker | Sessions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 May 1689 | 20 July 1689 | ? |
Members:
Parliaments of William II and Mary II
| Number | Opened | Dismissed | Speaker | Sessions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ? | 27 August/5 October 1692 | 26 June 1693 | ? |
Members:
- Richard Aldworth
- Francis Annesley( brother of Maurice)
- Maurice Annesley (brother of Francis)
- Alan Brodrick
- Sir Francis Brewster, Chancellor of the Exchequer
- Randall Brice
- Alan Broderick (brother of Thomas)
- Thomas Broderick (brother of Alan)
- Joseph Coghlan
- Sir Richard Levinge, Speaker?
- Stephen Ludlow
- Robert Molesworth
- Neave
- William Ponsonby
- Brigadier Rawdon
- John Reading
- Rochfort (Speaker)
- Philip Savage
- Edward Singleton
- James Sloane
- Richard Warburton
- Brigadier William Wolsely
| Number | Opened | Dismissed | Speaker | Sessions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ? | 27 August 1695 | 14 June 1699 | ? |
Members:
| Number | Opened | Dismissed | Speaker | Sessions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ? | 1703 | 1710 | ? |
Members:
- Alan Brodrick, Whig, Speaker
- Sir Toby Butler
- Henry Tenison, Tory
| Number | Opened | Dismissed | Speaker | Sessions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ? | 1713 | 1714 | ? |
Members:
- Alan Brodrick, Whig, Speaker
Parliaments of George I
| Number | Opened | Dismissed | Speaker | Sessions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ? | 12 November 1715 | 11 June 1727 | William Conolly | ? |
Members:
| Number | Opened | Dismissed | Speaker | Sessions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ? | 1723 | William Conolly | ? |
Members:
Parliaments of George II
| Number | Opened | Dismissed | Speaker | Sessions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ? | 1727 | Sir Ralph Gore, Chancellor of the Exchequer (d. February 1733) | ? |
Members: (elected 1727)
- St John Brodrick
- Sir Richard Cox
- Anthony Malone, Westmeath (married Speaker Ralph Gore's daughter),
- Thomas Carter
- Luke Gardiner, Tralee Thomastown to 1755
- Edward Lovett Pearce
Members: (elected 1728/29)
Members: (elected 1739)
Members: (in 1747)
- Henry Gore, Tulsk
- Frederick Gore, TulskKillybegs]]
- Sir Ralph Gore, Donegal County
- John Macarell, Carlingford
- Henry Mitchell, Castlebar
Members: (elected 1751/1752)
- Thomas Newenham, Cork
- Sir Richard Cox, Cork
- Cosby Nesbitt, Cavan
- Frederick Gore, Killybegs
- Henry Gore, Tulsk
- Sir Ralph Gore, Donegal County
- John Macarell, Carlingford
- Henry Mitchell, Castlebar
Members: (elected 1753/1754)
- Francis Pierpoint Burton, Killybegs
- Robert Fitzgerald, Kerry
- Henry Gore, Tulsk
- Frederick Gore, Killybegs
- Sir Ralph Gore, Donegal County
- John Macarell, Carlingford
- Henry Mitchell, Castlebar
- Cosby Nesbitt, Cavan County
| Number | Opened | Dismissed | Speaker | Sessions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ? | 1755 | 1756 | ? |
Members:
- Mervyn Archdall
- William Brownlow, Armagh, Independent
- Francis Pierpoint Burton, Killybegs
- Robert French
- John Gore
- Henry Gore, Tulsk
- Frederick Gore, Killybegs
- Sir Ralph Gore, Donegal County
- Anthony Malone
- John Macarell, Carlingford
- Henry Mitchell, Castlebar
- Edmund Pery, Independent
- John Ponsonby
- Abel Ram (Committee of Commons unseated Robert Leigh), Wexford
| Number | Opened | Dismissed | Speaker | Sessions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ? | 1757 | 1760 | John Ponsonby (also Irish Commissioner of Revenue) | ? |
Members:
- Sir Archibold Acheson
- John Bowes
- Benjamin Burton
- Sir Charles Burton, Dublin
- Francis Pierpoint Burton, Killybegs
- Nathaniel Clements
- Cunninghame
- James Dunn, Dublin
- Sir William Fownes
- John Gore
- Henry Gore
- Frederick Gore
- John Hely-Hutchinson, Cork
- Henry Lyons
- Anthony Malone
- Cosby Nesbitt, Cavan County
- Charles O'Hara
- Edmond Pery, Independent
- Sir Thomas Prendergast
- Stone
- Philip Tisdall
Parliaments of George III
| Number | Opened | Dismissed | Speaker | Sessions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 October 1761 | 28 May 1768 | ? |
Members:
Members: (elected 1766)
- Andrews
- Beauchamp
- Bowes
- Henry Flood, Kilkenny
- Lucas
- Cosby Nesbitt, Cavan County
- Sir Lucius O'Brien, Clare County
| Number | Opened | Dismissed | Speaker | Sessions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 17 October 1769 | 5 April 1776 | ? |
Members:
- Robert Clements, Donegal County
- Colonel Alexander Montgomery, Donegal County
- James Agar, Tralee (replaced by Sir Boyle Roche)
| Number | Opened | Dismissed | Speaker | Sessions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 18 June 1776 | 25 July 1783 | ? |
Members:
- Sir Edward Newenham, Independent
- Sir Boyle Roche, Gowran
| Number | Opened | Dismissed | Speaker | Sessions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 14 October 1783 | 8 April 1790 | ? |
Members:
- Welbore Agar, Kilkenny
- Isaac Corry
- Thomas Coughlan, Carlingford
- Henry Flood
- Sir William Godfrey, Tralee
- Henry Grattan, Independent
- Robert Jephson, Granard
- Sir Richard Johnstone, Blessington
- Sir James May, Waterford
- James Carrique Ponsonby, Tralee
- Ponsoy
- Nathaniel Warren (possibly a member of the 5th session)
- Sir Boyle Roche, Portarlington
| Number | Opened | Dismissed | Speaker | Sessions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 20 May 1790 | 11 July 1797 | ? |
Members:
| Number | Opened | Dismissed | Speaker | Sessions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 9 January 1798 | 31 December 1800 | ? |
Members:
Resignation
Until 1793 members could not resign their seats. They could cease to be a member of the House only by one of four ways:
- death
- expulsion
- taking Holy Orders
- being awarded a peerage and so a seat in the Irish House of Lords.
In 1793 a methodology for resignation was created, equivalent to the Chiltern Hundreds in the British House of Commons. Irish members could now be appointed to either the Escheatorship of Munster, the Escheatorship of Leinster, the Escheatorship of Connaught or the Escheatorship of Ulster. Possession of one of these Crown offices, with entailed a 30/ (30 shilling) salary, automatically terminated one's membership of the House of Commons.
See also
References
- Charles Ivor McGrath, The making of the 18th century Irish Parliament 1692-1714, Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2000, ISBN 1-85182-554-1
- Eoin Magennis, The Irish Political System 1740-1765, Doublin: Four Courts Press, 2000, ISBN 1-85182-484-7
- Moody/Vaughan, A new history of Ireland, Oxford, 1986, ISBN 0-19-821742-0 and ISBN 0-19-821739-0