The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 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 England and Great Britain. In counties, forty shilling freeholders were enfranchised whilst in most boroughs it was either only the members of self electing corporations or a highly restricted body of freemen that were able to vote for the borough's representatives. Most notably, Roman Catholics were disqualified from sitting in the Irish parliament from 1691, even though they comprised the vast majority of the Irish population. From 1728 until 1793 they were also disfranchised. Most of the population of all religions had no vote. The vast majority of parliamentary boroughs were pocket boroughs, the private property of an aristocratic patron. When these boroughs were disfranchised at the under the Act of Union, the patron was awarded £15,000 compensation for each.
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. The House of Commons was abolished when the Irish parliament merged with its British counterpart in 1801 under the Act of Union, forming the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The House sat for the last time in Parliament House, Dublin on 2 August 1800.
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.
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.
NotesParliament of 1374
William de Karlell, KilkennyJohn de Karlell, KilkennySir Richard Plunkett, MeathParliament of 1375
Sir Richard Plunkett, MeathHenry MitchellJohn TirelParliament of 1380
Sir Richard PlunkettJohn TirelParliament of 1429
Sir Richard FitzEustace, KildareParliament of 1450
John Chevir, Kilkenny, SpeakerMembers
Patrick BarnewallSir William BrabazonFirst session held at Dublin 13 June to 20 or 23 July 1541, 7 November 1541, 22 December 1541 Second session held at Limerick 15 February to 7 or 10 March 1542Third session held at Trim June 1542Dissolved 19 November 1543Speaker: Sir Thomas Cusack
Members:
Sir Edmond ButlerSir Thomas Cusack, AthenrySir Christopher Barnewall, Dublin CountyJames Stanyhurst, SpeakerSir Lucas Dillon, MeathSir John Alan, KinsaleFrancis Agard, KinsaleJohn Parker, TrimSir Henry Radclyffe, CarlingfordJohn Walsh, YoughalJohn Portyngall, YoughalRichmond Archbold, Cross TipperaryEdmund Prendergast, Cross TipperaryNicholas White, County KilkennyHenry Draycott, NaasJohn Meade, Cork CityHumphrey Warren, CarrickfergusBarnaby Fitzpatrick later 2nd Baron Upper OssoryMembers: List of Irish MPs 1585–86
Members:
Roger Atkinson, EnniskillenAndrew Barrett Cork CountyRichard Barry, Dublin CitySir John Bere, CarlowSir Francis Berkeley, Limerick CountyRalph Birchenshaw, AugherSir Valentine Blake, 1st Baronet, Galway CountySir John Blennerhassett, Baron of the Court of Exchequer, BelfastRobert Blennerhassett TraleeRichard Bolton, Dublin CitySir Edward Brabazon, Wicklow CountyEdmund Butler, Cross TipperaryBoetius Clancy, junior, ClareEdmund Coppinger, YoughalSir Thomas Crooke, 1st Baronet, BaltimoreSir John Davies, Speaker and Attorney-General, FermanaghGilbert Domville, KildareCharles Doyne, Trinity CollegeSir John Everard, Catholic d. 1624, 'the acknowledged leader of the opposition' TipperaryHumphrey Farnham, EnniskillenWilliam Ferrar, ClogherJames Roche Fitz-Philip, KinsaleDominick Roche Fitz-Richard, KinsaleSir Henry Folliott, FermanaghJohn Forrest, YoughalSir Paul Gore, 1st Baronet, BallyshannonHenry Gosnold, Second Justice of Munster, ClonakiltySir James Gough, WaterfordSir Edward Harris, Chief Justice of Munster, ClonakiltySir Robert Jacobe, Solicitor-General, CarlowSir John King, Muster-master, Roscommon CountyThomas Laffan, Cross TipperaryGerard Lowther, Justice of the Common Pleas, TallowThomas Luttrell, Dublin CountyDermot McCarthy Cork CountyThomas Browne Mills, Limerick CountyDaniel Molyneaux, Ulster King of Arms, StrabaneSamuel Molyneaux, MallowSir Garrett Moore, later Viscount Moore of Drogheda, DungannonSir Edward Moore, CharlemontSir Richard Moryson, Vice-president of Munster, BandonbridgeBarnabas O'Brien, later Earl of Thomond, ColeraineSir Daniel O'Brien, later 1st Viscount Clare, ClareLawrence Parsons, TallowWilliam Parsons, Surveyor General, NewcastleHenry Piers (or Pierce), Secretary to the Lord Deputy, BaltimoreSir Christopher Plunket, Dublin CountySir Hugh Pollerde, DungannonSir Thomas Ridgeway, later Earl of Londonderry, vice-treasurer and treasurer-at-war, 'in practice recognized by both parties as leader of the house' TyroneSir Robert Ridgeway, BallynakillSir Francis Roe, TyroneChristopher Sibthorpe, Justice of the Court of King's Bench, Newtown LimavadyEdward Skorye, AugherSir Oliver St John, Master of the Ordnance and Vice-President of Connaught, Roscommon CountySir William Talbot, 1st Baronet, KildareWilliam Temple, Provost of Trinity College, Dublin, Trinity CollegeSir William Usher, Clerk of the Council, Wicklow BoroughSir James Ware, Auditor-General, MallowGeorge Watkins, ClogherSir Richard Wingfield, Marshal of the Army, DownpatrickMembers:
Sir Nathaniel Catelyn, SpeakerJohn ClotworthyPatrick DarcySir Edward FitzharrisMaurice FitzgeraldSir Henry LynchSir Thomas LuttrellRichard MartinNicholas PlunkettSir William SarsfieldSir Nicholas WhiteWilliam GallweyJames RocheGuildford SlingsbyNicholas BarnewallSir Paul DavysSir John BorlaseSir Valentine Blake, 3rd BaronetSir James WareJames DonnellanSir Henry SpotteswoodEdward AyscoughSir William ColeSir John HumeSir Faithful FortescueJohn PerkinsBarnabas O'BrienDaniel O'BrienChristopher WandesfordGeorge RadcliffeSir Richard Kennedy, 1st BaronetLott PeereEdward SkipwithSir Charles Coote, later Earl of MountrathJames DillonSir Thomas GeoghGeoffrey MocklerSir James ErskineSir Henry TichborneSir William St Leger, Cork CountySir Donough MacCarty, 1st Earl of Clancarty, Cork CountyWilliam Kingsmill, MallowRobert Meredith, AugherJames Erskine, AugherJames Barry, later Lord Barry, LiamoreSir Henry Bingham, 1st Baronet, CastlebarJohn Bysse, CharlemontSir Robert Talbot, 2nd Baronet, WicklowSir Jerome Alexander, LiffordSir William Ryves, BelturbetGeoffrey Barron, ClonmelSir Robert Travers, ClonakiltyPhilip Mainwaring, ClonakiltyMembers: List of Irish MPs 1639–49
Members: List of Irish MPs 1661–66
Members:
Sir John Temple, CarlowSir Thomas Burdett, 1st Baronet, CarlowNicholas Plunkett, MeathSir Audley Mervyn, Tyrone, SpeakerSir Arthur Forbes, later Earl of Granard, TyroneSir Maurice Eustace junior, KnocktopherSir William Domville, Dublin CitySt. John BroderickRandolph ClaytonSir Henry Ingoldsby, 1st Baronet, ClareSir William Davys, Dublin CitySir MIchael ColeSir Robert ColeSir Arthur Gore, 1st Baronet, MayoMatthew HarrisonSir James Ware, University of DublinLord John Butler, University of DublinSir William KingRobert OliverSir John Cole, 1st BaronetSir Paul Davys, KildareSir Robert King. 1st Baronet, BallyshannonHenry BellinghamJohn BlennerhassettRobert BlennerhassettSir John SkeffingtonSir Toby PoyntzRichard Southwell, AskeatonSir Richard Bulkeley, 1st Baronet, BaltinglassSir Arthur ChichesterSir Thomas BramhallNicholas Ward, DownpatrickSir Edward Dering, 2nd Baronet, LismoreSir Nicholas Purdon, BaltimoreRichard Townsend, BaltimoreSir Randal Berseford, ColeraineMoses Hill, DroghedaSir Robert Reading, RatoathSir William Flower, St. CaniceOliver Wheeler, St. CaniceJohn Ponsonby, County KilkennyDaniel Redman, County KilkennyWilliam Handcock, WestmeathJohn Chambers, ArdeeJohn Ruxton, ArdeeRichard Boyle, Cork CountyRoger Boyle, Cork CountySir Henry Tynte, Cork CountySir John Perceval, Cork CountyJohn St Leger, Cork CountyHenry Mervyn, AugherRichard Palfrey, AugherFrancis Harvey, ClonminesJohn Povey, SwordsSir George Bingham, 2nd Baronet, CastlebarMoses Hill, DroghedaSir Richard Reynell, 1st Baronet, AthboyHenry O'Brien, Lord Ibrackan, ClareSir Edward Smith, LisburnOliver Jones, Roscommon CountyJoshua Boyle, ClonakiltyArthur Freke, ClonakiltyColonel Carey Dillon, BanagherDudley Colley, PhilipstownSir John Lyndon, CarrickfergusMembers:
Parliaments of William III and Mary II
Members: List of Irish MPs 1692–93
Members: List of Irish MPs 1695–99
Members: List of Irish MPs 1703–13
Members: List of Irish MPs 1713–14
Members: List of Irish MPs 1715–27
Members: List of Irish MPs 1727–60
Members: (elected 1727)
St John BrodrickHenry BoyleSir Richard Cox, 2nd baronetSir Matthew Deane, 3rd BaronetCharles Viscount DungarvanAnthony Malone, Westmeath (married Speaker Ralph Gore's daughter),Thomas CarterLuke Gardiner, Tralee Thomastown to 1755Sir Arthur Acheson, 5th Baronet, for MullingarEdward Lovett PearceRobert MarshallEaton StannardMembers: (elected 1728/29)
Members: (elected 1739)
John PonsonbyMembers: (in 1747)
Henry Gore, TulskFrederick Gore, KillybegsSir Ralph Gore, Donegal CountyArthur HydeJohn Macarell, CarlingfordHenry Mitchell, CastlebarMembers: (elected 1751/1752)
Thomas Newenham, CorkSir Richard Cox, CorkCosby Nesbitt, CavanFrederick Gore, KillybegsHenry Gore, TulskSir Ralph Gore, Donegal CountyJohn Macarell, CarlingfordHenry Mitchell, CastlebarMembers: (elected 1753/1754)
Francis Pierpoint Burton, KillybegsRobert Fitzgerald, KerryHenry Gore, TulskFrederick Gore, KillybegsSir Ralph Gore, Donegal CountyJohn Macarell, CarlingfordHenry Mitchell, CastlebarCosby Nesbitt, Cavan CountyMervyn ArchdallWilliam Brownlow, Armagh, IndependentFrancis Pierpoint Burton, KillybegsCharles Viscount DungarvanRobert FrenchJohn GoreHenry Gore, TulskFrederick Gore, KillybegsSir Ralph Gore, Donegal CountyAnthony MaloneJohn Macarell, CarlingfordHenry Mitchell, CastlebarEdmund Pery, IndependentJohn PonsonbyAbel Ram (Committee of Commons unseated Robert Leigh), WexfordMembers:
Sir Archibold AchesonJohn BowesBenjamin BurtonSir Charles Burton, DublinFrancis Pierpoint Burton, KillybegsNathaniel ClementsCunninghameJames Dunn, DublinSir William FownesJohn GoreHenry GoreFrederick GoreJohn Hely-Hutchinson, CorkHenry LyonsAnthony MaloneCosby Nesbitt, Cavan CountyCharles O'HaraEdmond Pery, IndependentSir Thomas PrendergastStonePhilip TisdallMembers: List of Irish MPs 1761–68
Members: List of Irish MPs 1769–76
Members: List of Irish MPs 1776–83
Members:List of Irish MPs 1783–90
Members: List of Irish MPs 1790–97
Members:List of Irish MPs 1798–1800
Until 1793 members could not resign their seats. They could cease to be a member of the House only by one of four ways:
deathexpulsiontaking Holy Ordersbeing 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.
Henry Grattan: Went on to serve as an Irish member of the United Kingdom House of Commons.Boyle Roche: The "father" of Irish bullsHon. Arthur Wellesley: Later became Duke of Wellington, defeated Napoleon I at Waterloo, and served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He represented his family borough of Trim, County Meath from 1790–98.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: 1705–77 Government and Treasury Official, Managed extensive financial functions from 1720–77 on behalf of the Government, de facto Minister for Finance 1740–77, 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".
