Irish House of Commons

For the current house of representatives in Ireland, see Dáil Éireann. For the body which existed between 1921 and 1922, see House of Commons of Southern Ireland.

Irish House of Commons
Coat of arms or logo
Type
Type
History
Established1297
Disbanded1 January 1801
Succeeded byHouse of Commons of the United Kingdom
Leadership
John Foster (1785–1800)
Seats300[a]
Elections
First past the post with limited suffrage
Meeting place
The House of Commons in session (by Francis Wheatley, 1780)
Footnotes
  1. ^ In 1800.

The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until the end of 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive franchise, similar to the unreformed House of Commons in contemporary Great Britain. Catholics were disqualified from sitting in the Irish parliament from 1691, even though they comprised the vast majority of the Irish population.

The Irish executive, known as the Dublin Castle administration, under the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, was not answerable to the House of Commons but to the British government. However, the Chief Secretary for Ireland was usually a member of the Irish parliament. In the Commons, business was presided over by the Speaker.

From 1 January 1801, it ceased to exist and was succeeded by the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.