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Irish House Of Commons

Oh, you want to dredge up the dead past, do you? Fine. But don't expect me to find this fascinating. The Irish House of Commons. Existed from 1297 until 1800. A lower house, obviously. Like a basement in a building with a crumbling foundation. For the current iteration, you can look at Dáil Éireann. And if you're interested in that brief, pathetic flicker between 1921 and 1922, that was the House of Commons of Southern Ireland. Don't get them confused. It's all just dust now.

Irish House of Commons

Type: Lower house

History:

Leadership:

Seats: 300 [^a]

Elections:

Footnotes:

  • ^ In 1800.

The Irish House of Commons, or Teach na gComóntach (or Teach na dTeachtaí in Irish), was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland. It existed for quite some time, from 1297 until the very end of 1800. The other half of this defunct parliament was the House of Lords. Membership in the Commons was, at least in theory, directly elected. In practice, however, the franchise was so ridiculously restrictive, it makes the unreformed House of Commons in Great Britain look positively democratic. And let's not forget the blatant discrimination: Catholics were barred from even sitting in the Irish parliament from 1691 onwards. This was despite them being the overwhelming majority. Imagine that.

The executive, known as the Dublin Castle administration and headed by the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, answered to the British government, not to this Irish Commons. A nice bit of insulation there. The Chief Secretary for Ireland usually had a seat, though, to keep an eye on things. Presiding over the proceedings in the Commons was the Speaker. A position of some import, I suppose, if you enjoy that sort of thing.

Then, poof. Gone. On 1 January 1801, it ceased to exist, replaced by the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. More absorption. Predictable.

Franchise

This section, frankly, is a mess. It doesn't even bother to cite its sources. Typical. As if the truth needs a citation to exist. But here's what they say:

The franchise was exclusively male. Because of course it was. From 1728 to 1793, Catholics were not just excluded from sitting, but also from voting – disfranchised. Most of the population, regardless of religion, had no say. In the counties, only forty-shilling freeholders got a vote. In most boroughs, it was either the self-elected members of corporations or a very select group of freemen. The vast majority of these boroughs? Pocket boroughs. Basically, the private property of some aristocratic patron. How quaint.

Abolition

The House of Commons was unceremoniously abolished by the Acts of Union 1800. Ireland was merged into the Kingdom of Great Britain, creating the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. This all took effect on 1 January 1801. The last meeting of the Irish House of Commons was on 2 August 1800, in Parliament House, Dublin. One hundred of its members were then either chosen or forced to join the House of Commons of Great Britain, forming the new, larger House of Commons of the United Kingdom. And the patrons of those unfortunate pocket boroughs that were abolished? They received £15,000 compensation for each. A tidy sum for losing their little empires. [^1]

Speaker of the Commons

This position was the presiding officer, the senior official of the House. It carried significant power and prestige, especially since the government wasn't really answerable to the Commons. So, the Speaker was often the most dominant political figure. The last one to hold this esteemed title was John Foster.

There's a drawing here of the front of Parliament House, Dublin, all grand with its dome. Seen from the street, 18th century. Makes it look important, I suppose.

Constituencies

The number of boroughs that were allowed to send representatives was initially small – only 55 in 1603. The Stuart monarchs, in their infinite wisdom, decided to double that. By the time of the Union, there were 150 constituencies. Each sent two members, elected via plurality block voting. Voters could choose one or two candidates; the top two got the seats. The franchises varied, of course. It was a convoluted system, designed to keep things exactly as they were.

After the Act of Union, from 1801, Ireland sent 100 MPs to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. These constituencies were a subset of the old Irish ones:

  • The 32 counties and the two largest county boroughs, Cork City and Dublin City, kept two MPs each.
  • The other 6 county boroughs, the university, and the 25 most populous boroughs were reduced to one MP each.
  • The remaining 84 least populous boroughs were simply erased from existence.

An engraving of a section of the chamber, by Peter Mazell after Rowland Omer (1767), is also shown. It looks crowded. Probably smelled of desperation and stale brandy.

Means of resignation

Until 1793, members couldn't just resign. They could leave their seats through death, expulsion, taking Holy Orders, or by accepting a peerage and moving to the Irish House of Lords. Or, of course, by standing down at an election.

In 1793, they introduced a way to resign, similar to the Chiltern Hundreds or Manor of Northstead in the British House of Commons. Irish members could be appointed to the Escheatorship of Munster, Leinster, Connaught, or Ulster. Holding one of these Crown offices, considered an "office of profit" under the Crown with a measly 30-shilling salary, meant you were no longer a member of the House of Commons. A rather convoluted way to quit, wouldn't you agree?

Notable members

There's a lot more in the footnotes and references. Lists of parliaments, histories of Ireland, various Acts of Parliament. If you're truly interested in the minutiae of this defunct body, you can delve into it. But don't expect me to find it particularly edifying. It's all just echoes now.