Constitution of 1782
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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 cham ...
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 the
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to make laws and hear court cases relating to Ireland. These changes were promoted, under the name legislative independence, by the
Irish Patriot Party The Irish Patriot Party was the name of a number of different political groupings in Ireland throughout the 18th century. They were primarily supportive of Whig concepts of personal liberty combined with an Irish identity that rejected full inde ...
, 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
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 cham ...
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 Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
remained under the control of a Lord Lieutenant 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 advised ...
: "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 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 An Act for the better securing the dependency of the Kingdom of Ireland on the Crown of Great Britain ( 6. Geo. I, c. 5) was a 1719 Act passed by the Parliament of Great Britain which declared that it had the right to pass laws for the Kingdom of ...
. The 1719 Act had declared that the Parliament of Ireland was dependent on the Parliament of Great Britain 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 The Irish Appeals Act 1783 (23 Geo 3 c 28), commonly known as the Renunciation Act, was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain. By it the British Parliament renounced all right to legislate for Ireland, and declared that no appeal from the de ...
, 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 Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ci ...
. 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 refor ...
. By the Acts of Union the Parliament of Ireland was abolished. The Kingdom of Ireland 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.


See also

*
Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fran ...
*
Irish House of Lords The Irish House of Lords was the upper house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from medieval times until 1800. It was also the final court of appeal of the Kingdom of Ireland. It was modelled on the House of Lords of England, with membe ...


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