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 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 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 as its leading orator. The Parliament of Ireland 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 responsibility ...

sent over by the British government. Under the terms 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 ...

of 1495, no law could be passed that was not first approved by the Parliament of England: "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 Kingdo ...

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

was absorbed into the new United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 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