Events from the year 1782 in Ireland.
Incumbent
*
Monarch
A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest ...
:
George III
George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...
Events
* 6 February – The collapse of a floor due to a rotten beam at
Neale's Musick Hall, Dublin leaves many people injured, 11 of whom die shortly afterwards due to their injuries.
* '
Constitution of 1782
The Constitution of 1782 was a group of Acts passed by the Parliament of Ireland and the Parliament of Great Britain in 1782–83 which increased the legislative and judicial independence of the Kingdom of Ireland by reducing the ability of t ...
', the collective legal changes which restore legislative independence to the
Parliament of Ireland
The Parliament of Ireland () was the legislature of the Lordship of Ireland, and later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1297 until the end of 1800. It was modelled on the Parliament of England and from 1537 comprised two chambers: the Irish Hou ...
, giving rise to "
Grattan's Parliament".
** 15 February – at a convention held in
Dungannon
Dungannon (, ) is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the second-largest town in the county (after Omagh) and had a population of 16,282 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2021 Census. The Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Counci ...
, delegates from a number of
Ulster
Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...
Volunteer
Volunteering is an elective and freely chosen act of an individual or group giving their time and labor, often for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency ...
corps pledge support for resolutions advocating legislative independence for Ireland.
** 20 February – the phrase "
Protestant Ascendancy
The Protestant Ascendancy (also known as the Ascendancy) was the sociopolitical and economical domination of Ireland between the 17th and early 20th centuries by a small Anglicanism, Anglican ruling class, whose members consisted of landowners, ...
" is first used by Sir
Boyle Roche
Sir Boyle Roche, 1st Baronet (October 1736, as cited in
Some sources, including earlier versions of the ''Dictionary of National Biography'', give the date as 1743. However, since the later date would make Roche rather young to have served wit ...
(in passing) in a speech to the Irish House of Commons.
** 16 April –
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 ...
declares the independence of the
Irish House of Commons
The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until the end of 1800. The upper house was the Irish House of Lords, House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, ...
.
** 17 May – the
Parliament of Great Britain
The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in May 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union 1707, Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The Acts ratified the treaty of Union which created a ...
under Prime Minister
Lord Rockingham
Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham (13 May 1730 – 1 July 1782), styled The Honourable Charles Watson-Wentworth before 1739, Viscount Higham between 1739 and 1746, Earl of Malton between 1746 and 1750, and the Marquess of R ...
passes the
Repeal of Act for Securing Dependence of Ireland Act, repealing the
Dependency of Ireland on Great Britain Act 1719.
** Repeal of
Poynings' Law Poynings' Law or the Statute of Drogheda may refer to the following acts of the Parliament of Ireland:
* The acts of Poynings' Parliament, summoned to Drogheda in 1494–5 by Edward Poynings; or more specifically
** Poynings' Law (on certification ...
.
** Irish judges are granted the same security of tenure as their English counterparts.

* Repeal of the
Education Act 1695:
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
s may now send their children abroad to be educated; they may also now teach classes within Ireland.
* Parliament of Ireland passes the Anonymous Persons Act, introducing a form of
limited liability
Limited liability is a legal status in which a person's financial Legal liability, liability is limited to a fixed sum, most commonly the value of a person's investment in a corporation, company, or joint venture. If a company that provides limi ...
to encourage commerce.
*
Kildare Street Club
The Kildare Street Club is a historical member's club in Dublin, Ireland, at the heart of the Anglo-Irish Protestant Ascendancy.
The club remained in Kildare Street between 1782 and 1977, when it merged with the Dublin University Club to becom ...
founded in Dublin.
Births
*1 April –
James Daly, 1st Baron Dunsandle and Clanconal, politician (died
1847
Events
January–March
* January 4 – Samuel Colt sells his first revolver pistol to the U.S. government.
* January 13 – The Treaty of Cahuenga ends fighting in the Mexican–American War in California.
* January 16 – John C. Fr� ...
).
*26 July –
John Field
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second Ep ...
, composer and pianist (died
1837
Events
January–March
* January 1 – The destructive Galilee earthquake causes thousands of deaths in Ottoman Syria.
* January 26 – Michigan becomes the 26th state admitted to the United States.
* February 4 – Seminoles attack Fo ...
).
*25 September –
Charles Maturin
Charles Robert Maturin, also known as C. R. Maturin (25 September 1780 – 30 October 1824), was an Irish Protestant clergyman (ordained in the Church of Ireland) and a writer of Gothic fiction, Gothic plays and novels.Chris Morgan, "Maturin, C ...
, clergyman, novelist and playwright (died
1824
Events
January–March
* January 1 – John Stuart Mill begins publication of The Westminster Review. The first article is by William Johnson Fox
* January 8 – After much controversy, Michael Faraday is finally elected as a member of th ...
).
*29 September –
Windham Quin, 2nd Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl, peer (died
1850
Events
January–March
* January 29 – Henry Clay introduces the Compromise of 1850 to the United States Congress.
* January 31 – The University of Rochester is founded in Rochester, New York.
* January – Sacramento, Ca ...
).
*11 November –
Francis Blackburne,
Lord Chancellor of Ireland
The Lord High Chancellor of Ireland, commonly known as the Lord Chancellor of Ireland, was the highest ranking judicial office in Ireland until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. From 1721 until the end of 1800, it was also the hi ...
(died
1867
There were only 354 days this year in the newly purchased territory of Alaska. When the territory transferred from the Russian Empire to the United States, the calendric transition from the Julian to the Gregorian Calendar was made with only 1 ...
).
*23 November –
James FitzGibbon,
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
soldier and hero of the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...
(died
1863
Events
January
* January 1 – Abraham Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation during the third year of the American Civil War, making the abolition of slavery in the Confederate States of America an official war goal. The signing ...
).
*;Full date unknown
*:*
Sir John Burke, 2nd Baronet
Colonel Sir John Burke, 2nd Baronet, DL (1782 – 14 September 1847) was an Irish soldier and Whig politician who was MP for County Galway (1830–2) and High Sheriff of County Galway (1838–9).
Background
He was the oldest and only surv ...
, soldier and politician (died
1847
Events
January–March
* January 4 – Samuel Colt sells his first revolver pistol to the U.S. government.
* January 13 – The Treaty of Cahuenga ends fighting in the Mexican–American War in California.
* January 16 – John C. Fr� ...
).
*:*
James Hardiman
James Hardiman (February 1782 – 13 November 1855), also known as Séamus Ó hArgadáin, was a librarian at Queen's College, Galway and an important historian.
Hardiman is best remembered for his '' History of the Town and County of Galway'' (1 ...
, lawyer, librarian and historian (died
1855
Events
January–March
* January 1 – Ottawa, Ontario, is incorporated as a city.'
* January 5 – Ramón Castilla begins his third term as President of Peru.
* January 23
** The first bridge over the Mississippi River o ...
).
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:1782 In Ireland
Years of the 18th century in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
1780s in Ireland