Irish House of Commons

The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland, that existed from mediæval times until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a very restrictive franchise. Roman Catholics were debarred from sitting in the Irish parliament, even though they comprised the vast majority of the Irish population. Until the 1790s they were also forbidden to participate in elections to the Commons.

Famous members

• Henry Grattan - went on to serve as an Irish member of the United Kingdom House of Commons.
• Hon. Arthur Wellesley - later became Duke of Wellington, defeated Napoleon at Waterloo, and served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He represented his family borough of Trim, in County Meath from 1790-1796.
• William Connolly - a past Speaker, Connolly remains today one of the most widely known figures ever to be produced by the Irish parliament. He is famous not just for his role in parliament but also for his great wealth that allowed him to build one of Ireland's greatest Georgian houses, Castletown House.