Irish House of Commons

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 Grattan. The reforms of 1782 are sometimes known as the Constitution of 1782.

Following the crises caused by the mental illness of King George III, 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:

• Henry Grattan, who went on to serve as an Irish member of the House of Commons of the new United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland;
• Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington who defeated Emperor Napoleon I of France at the Battle of Waterloo and later became British Prime Minister. It was he as prime minister who conceded Catholic Emancipation in 1829.

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).