1794 Rocque Wall Map of Ireland - Geographicus - Ireland2-rocque-1794

The Constitution of 1782 was a group of Acts passed by the

Parliament of Ireland The Parliament of Ireland ( ga, Parlaimint na hÉireann) was the legislature of the Lordship of Ireland, and later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1297 until 1800. It was modelled on the Parliament of England and from 1537 comprised two ch ...

and the

Parliament of Great Britain The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in May 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The Acts ratified the treaty of Union which created a new unified Kingdo ...

in 1782–83 which increased the legislative and judicial independence of the

Kingdom of Ireland The Kingdom of Ireland ( ga, label=Classical Irish, an Ríoghacht Éireann; ga, label= Modern Irish, an Ríocht Éireann, ) was a monarchy on the island of Ireland that was a client state of England and then of Great Britain. It existed from ...

by reducing the ability of the

Kingdom of Great Britain The Kingdom of Great Britain (officially Great Britain) was a sovereign country in Western Europe from 1 May 1707 to the end of 31 December 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of Union 1707, wh ...

to make laws and hear court cases relating to Ireland. These changes were promoted, under the name legislative independence, by the Irish Patriot Party, a loose alliance with

Henry Grattan Henry Grattan (3 July 1746 – 4 June 1820) was an Irish politician and lawyer who campaigned for legislative freedom for the Irish Parliament in the late 18th century from Britain. He was a Member of the Irish Parliament (MP) from 1775 to 18 ...

as its leading orator. The

as it existed after 1782 is often called Grattan's Parliament in his honour. The Constitution did not create a responsible executive, as the Dublin Castle administration remained under the control of a

Lord Lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibilit ...

sent over by the British government. Under the terms of Poynings' Law of 1495, no law could be passed that was not first approved by the

Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advise ...

: "An Act that no Parliament be holden in this Land until the Acts be certified into England". The parliament was established by and subordinate to the Crown of England. Along with other restrictions, it meant in effect, that the

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the King ...

had control over the parliamentary agenda and authority to restrict its ability to legislate contrary to the objectives of the British government in London. From 1782, Grattan — the leader of the Patriot Party — led a series of legal changes which produced a period of novel legislative freedom. The main act was the

Repeal of Act for Securing Dependence of Ireland Act 1782 The Repeal Act of 1782 (22. Geo. III, c. 53) was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain, which repealed the Declaratory Act of 1719. The 1719 Act had declared the Parliament of Ireland dependent on the Parliament and Privy Council of Great ...

. This act repealed the Declaratory Act of 1719. The 1719 Act had declared that the Parliament of Ireland was dependent on the

and the

Privy Council of Great Britain The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a privy council, formal body of advisers to the British monarchy, sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises Politics of the United King ...

. The British Rockingham Ministry had conceded the act in fear of an American-style revolt. This concession was followed by the Irish Appeals Act 1783, commonly known as the Renunciation Act. By the terms of this act, the Parliament of Great Britain renounced all right to legislate for Ireland, and declared that no appeal from the decision of any court in Ireland could be heard in any court in Great Britain. Grattan's Parliament also achieved greater control over the Royal Irish Army. The new constitutional arrangements proved short-lived in consequence of the 1798 uprising by the

United Irishmen The Society of United Irishmen was a sworn association in the Kingdom of Ireland formed in the wake of the French Revolution to secure "an equal representation of all the people" in a national government. Despairing of constitutional reform, ...

. By the Acts of Union the Parliament of Ireland was abolished. The

was absorbed into the new

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was a sovereign state in the British Isles that existed between 1801 and 1922, when it included all of Ireland. It was established by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Grea ...

, with effect from 1 January 1801.

References

External links

"The Constitution of 1782" in Bartlett, Thomas. ''Ireland: A History.'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.
{{Irish constitutions, state=collapsed 1782 in law 1782 in Ireland Irish constitutional law

See also

References

External links