18th Century Ireland Articles - Beginnings of Parliamentary Reform by Dr. Samuel Couch

Article: 18th Century Ireland
II. Beginnings of Parliamentary Reform

by Dr. Sam Couch, Ph. D.
Owner, Rising Road Tours

Composition of the Irish Parliament during this period was totally Protestant. Catholics had no political power. They could not hold seats in Parliament and were denied the right to vote. Irish politicians struggled for independence from the English Parliament with some success by the time of Grattan's Parliament in 1782.

Poynings' Law, passed in 1495, was still enforced. Under the provisions of the act, the Irish parliament could not make laws - or even meet - without permission of the English king and council. Although the English body did not have power to legislate for Ireland under Poynings', this changed under the Sixth of George I. In 1719, this act gave the English parliament power to make laws for Ireland.

The combination of Poynings' Law and the Sixth of George I produced great discontent. The Irish decided to throw off the yoke of English domination in hopes of making their own laws. During this period many great Irishmen wrote and spoke in favor of Irish legislative independence and the revival of Irish manufactures.

In 1698 William Molyneux MP for University of Dublin wrote a book advocating sovereignty for the Irish Parliamant. The book was banned and ordered publicly burned.

This period gave the world Jonathan Swift. In 1713 he was appointed Dean of St. Patrick's in Dublin. He wrote letters and pamphlets satirizing Britain's treatment of the Irish. Protestants began to see the injustice of the Penal Laws against both Catholics and Presbyterians and began to press for reform. The first group to advocate for such reforms was a small opposition party in the Irish House of Commons called the Patriots. Early on the government was able to keep the Patriots in check, but ultimately they carried their point.

Around 1750 Charles Lucas, a Dublin apothecary, and counselor Anthony Malone led the Patriots. Their leader served in the House of Lords was the earl of Kildare, later Duke of Leinster. The first Patriot victory in 1753 involved the disposition of Irish surplus taxes. The king decreed that none of these monies could be used without his permission. The Patriots passed a bill over the opposition of the court party that allowed for disposition of the surplus without reference to the king. By this time both parties were nearly balanced.

Also in 1753 a "Catholic committee" was founded to obtain relief and watch over Catholic interests. This was a result of increasing tolerance in the society. It also signaled the beginning of Catholic Emancipation. The Catholics and their committees remained silent on public issues. They wished to stay out of the limelight. Growing tolerance led to easing of the Penal Laws. In 1771 an act allowed Catholics to lease and reclaim 50 acres of bog, but under the act the land had to be located at least one mile from a town.

Henry Grattan led the patriotic party in a demand for Free Trade, i.e., the repeal of laws against Irish commerce and manufacture. In 1779, Grattan's party, supported by the Volunteers, moved the English parliament to repeal some of the trade laws, especially those against export of wool and woolen goods.

The popular party emboldened by this success determined to undo Poynings' Law and the Sixth of George I. Agitation for total parliamentary freedom began in Dublin but ultimately spread across the land. Through bribery the government managed to resist reform by keeping a majority in parliament.

Charlemont, Grattan and Flood called the Dungannon Convention in 1782. Here Volunteer delegates drew up a resolution that "King, lords and commons of Ireland" alone had the right to make laws for the country; that Ireland should have Free Trade. They also expressed relief at the partial relaxation of the Penal Laws against the Catholic majority.

Grattan's proposals were carried in the ensuing Irish Parliament over government opposition. The Act of Repeal in 1782 in the English parliament gave the Irish parliament exclusive rights to legislate for Ireland. In addition the English parliament passed the Act of Renunciation which declared that the right should never be called into question.

The newly independent Irish Parliament needed internal reform. Many members were bought by rich landowners. Sometimes up to 11,000 Pounds was paid for a single seat. The government rebuffed efforts at reform and the Patriotic Party lost support as the volunteers disbanded. An effort to lift trade duties failed.

This series of articles is based on lectures given by Dr. Samuel Couch to Irish Studies courses at Georgia Southern University and Young Harris College between 1997 and 2004. Documented sources come from Couch's research and studies in American universities and with scholars in Ireland. The articles are in no way intended to be comprehensive.

Background materials come from, but are not limited to, readings in the following books:

Duffy, Sean, ed., Atlas of Irish History. Gill & Macmillan: Dublin. 1997.
Joyce, P.W., Outlines of the History of Ireland from the Earliest Times to 1905. M.H. Gill & Son: Dublin. 1909.
Killeen, Richard, A Short History of Ireland. Gill & Macmillan: Dublin. 1994.
Smyth, Daragh, A Guide to Irish Mythology. 2nd ed. Irish Academic Press: Dublin. 1996.

Any lack of attribution to primary sources is unintentional and the sole responsibility of Dr. Couch.

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Article: 18th Century Ireland II. Beginnings of Parliamentary Reform

Article: 18th Century Ireland
II. Beginnings of Parliamentary Reform