The Militia (Ireland) Act 1802 ( 43 Geo. 3. c. 2) was an

Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom In the United Kingdom an act of Parliament is primary legislation passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. An act of Parliament can be enforced in all four of the UK constituent countries (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland ...

affecting the

Militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

, a locally raised force for home defence. It applied only to 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 ...

, with the

Militia Act 1802 The Militia Act 1802 (42 Geo. III, c. 90) was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom affecting the Militia, a locally raised force for home defence. It applied to England and Wales, with Scotland covered by the Militia (Scotland) Act 1802, and ...

and

Militia (Scotland) Act 1802 The Militia (Scotland) Act 1802 ( 42 Geo. 3. c. 91) was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom affecting the Militia, a locally raised force for home defence. It applied to Scotland while there were other acts of the same year applying to Eng ...

applying elsewhere in the country.

Provisions of the Act

The Act brought together a number of the Militia Acts which had been passed during the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...

(1794-1802), repealing them but broadly re-enacting their content. It provided for a Militia with an established strength of 15,000 men in Ireland (set against 51,489 in England and Wales, and 8,000 in Scotland). The Irish militia was to be raised entirely from volunteers, unlike units in England, Wales, and Scotland, which were recruited by ballot. This was a deliberate decision to avoid civil unrest. The Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland was empowered to recruit volunteers over a four-month period after the Act was passed, paying a bounty of two guineas to each recruit. Men were liable to serve for five years or, if called into active service in this period, until the Militia was disembodied. The sum set aside for recruiting was £40,000, enough to recruit 19–20,000 men, though the notional strength was only 15,000. In the event, this was insufficient; the Militia (Ireland) Act 1803 ( 43 Geo. 3. c. 33) was passed in April 1803 to double the bounty to four guineas, as not enough volunteers had come forward to make up the desired numbers.

Notes

{{Authority control United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1802 19th-century military history of the United Kingdom United Kingdom military law Repealed United Kingdom Acts of Parliament British defence policymaking