Podcast: Elections in Ireland from the Treaty of Limerick to Catholic Emancipation

Cathal Brennan and John Dorney discuss election to the Irish Parliament between 1691 and 1829. First broadcast on the Irish History Show. Part one here.

Here we discuss the evolution of the Irish Paraliament and politics in the ‘long eighteenth century’.

It was a time when in Britain the ‘Glorious Revolution’ of 1688 laid the foundations for representative government, while in Ireland it disenfranchised the Catholic majority.

Elections were chaotic to our eyes. In Ireland they were conducted irregularly compared to Britain, only at the beginning of the reign of a new monarch, with a small and eccentrically distributed electorate.

Where contested, they were often subject to bribery and other forms of manipulation. And yet from the Irish Parliament, until its abolition in 1800, came the ‘Patriot’ tradition that demanded legislative independence and eventually, on its more radical wing, equal rights for Catholics.

Finally, we discuss the politics of Ireland after the Act of Union and Daniel O’Connell’s electoral battles for Catholic Emancipation.

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider subscribing to our Patreon page for The Irish Story if you would like to support our work.