The Irish University Bill (Bill 55 of session 36 Victoria; long title A Bill for the Extension of University Education in Ireland; proposed

short title In certain jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom and other Westminster-influenced jurisdictions (such as Canada or Australia), as well as the United States and the Philippines, primary legislation has both a short title and a long title. T ...

the University Act (Ireland), 1873) was a

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introduced in the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprem ...

in 1873 by the first Gladstone government to expand the

University of Dublin The University of Dublin ( ga, Ollscoil Átha Cliath), corporately designated the Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin, is a university located in Dublin, Ireland. It is the degree-awarding body for Trinity College Dub ...

into a secular national university incorporating multiple colleges.

Proposal

In 1873, as now, Dublin University comprised a single college,

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

, which was founded in 1592. Admission had been restricted to members of the established

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the sec ...

till the Catholic Relief Act 1793. The

Irish Church Act 1869 The Irish Church Act 1869 (32 & 33 Vict. c. 42) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which separated the Church of Ireland from the Church of England and disestablished the former, a body that commanded the adherence of a small min ...

disestablished the church, but

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fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

s and

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s of the college were still required to be Anglicans. The secular Queen's University of Ireland had been founded in 1845–50 with colleges in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

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, and

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

. Lacking government recognition were the

Catholic University of Ireland The Catholic University of Ireland (CUI; ga, Ollscoil Chaitliceach na hÉireann) was a private Catholic university in Dublin, Ireland. It was founded in 1851 following the Synod of Thurles in 1850, and in response to the Queen's University o ...

founded in Dublin in 1851 and the Presbyterian

Magee College , image = , caption = ''Top:'' ''Ulster University's coat of arms'Bottom:'' ''The Magee main building'' , motto_lang = , mottoeng = , established = 1865 – Magee College 1953 – Magee Univers ...

founded in

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

in 1865. The 1873 bill proposed to abolish the failing Galway college and make all the others colleges of an expanded Dublin University. All religious requirements for students and faculty in all colleges would be abolished. Trinity College's Theology faculty would be detached and removed to the control of the Church of Ireland.

Opposition

The proposal was strongly opposed by the

Roman Catholic Church in Ireland , native_name_lang = ga , image = Armagh, St Patricks RC cathedral.jpg , imagewidth = 200px , alt = , caption = St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh. , abbreviation = , type ...

, and partly opposed by the Presbyterians and the existing Trinity College faculty. It was defeated by three votes on its

second reading A reading of a bill is a stage of debate on the bill held by a general body of a legislature. In the Westminster system, developed in the United Kingdom, there are generally three readings of a bill as it passes through the stages of becoming ...

in the House of Commons on 11 March 1873. This was one factor in the eventual fall of the government in 1874.

Later

The abolition of the Anglican test oath for Dublin University and Trinity College, except in the School of Divinity, was effected by the University of Dublin Tests Act, 1873 (An Act to abolish Tests in Trinity College and the University of Dublin; 36 & 37 Victoria, c. 22) introduced by Henry Fawcett and hence called "Fawcett's Act". Until 1970, the Irish Catholic hierarchy discouraged Catholics from attending the university. Under the Disraeli administration, the University Education (Ireland) Act 1879 altered the Queen's University of Ireland into the

Royal University of Ireland The Royal University of Ireland was founded in accordance with the ''University Education (Ireland) Act 1879'' as an examining and degree-awarding university based on the model of the University of London. A Royal Charter was issued on 27 Apri ...

and facilitated access to it for the Catholic and Presbyterian colleges. Trinity College and Dublin University were not affected.

References

Primary

* From EPPI: *
Bill for Extension of University Education in Ireland
*
Irish University Bill: resolutions of the standing committee (on Trinity College) of the General Assembly of the Irish Presbyterian Church
*
Declaration of Catholic Union to First Lord of Treasury, January 1873; Resolutions of Roman Catholic Archbishops and Bishops, on University Education in Ireland
*
Certain matters relating to the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth, near Dublin: report, minutes of evidence and appendix p.110
* Hansard 1873, Commons debates Vol.214: *
13 Feb cc377-429
First reading *
18 Feb cc599-600
Question *
24 Feb cc832-33
Question *
27 Feb cc1038-39
Question *
3 Mar cc1181-82
Notice of motion *
3 Mar cc1186-277
Second reading begins *
6 Mar cc1389-90
Referral to select committee *
6 Mar c1396
*
6 Mar cc1398-1513
Second reading resumes *
10 Mar cc1615-17
*
10 Mar cc1617-1713
*
11 Mar cc1739-40
*
11 Mar cc1741-1868
Second reading ends, Vote

Secondary

* * * *

Notes

External links

Irish University Bill 1873
full PDF from EPPI (Enhanced British Parliamentary Papers on Ireland) {{Authority control Proposed laws of Ireland Universities and colleges in Ireland University of Dublin 1873 in Ireland 1873 in law