Editing History of Irish legislatures (section)

==Parliament of Ireland==
{{main|Parliament of Ireland}}

This body consisted of the [[King of Ireland]] and two chambers: the [[Irish House of Commons]] and the [[Irish House of Lords]]) which existed in [[Lordship of Ireland]] (1171–1541) and the [[Kingdom of Ireland]] (1541–1800). This parliament operated under major restrictions, including [[Poynings' Law (on certification of acts)|Poynings' Law]] and the [[Penal Laws against Irish Catholics|Penal Laws]], imposed by the English and British [[The Crown|Crown]], by the English and [[British Parliament]] and by the [[Privy Council|King-in-Council]]. Many of these restrictions were removed in 1782, producing what became known as the [[Constitution of 1782]]. The Kingdom of Ireland merged with the [[Kingdom of Great Britain]] to form the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland]] in 1801.

It was subject to an Irish executive, presided over by the English/British selected [[Lord Lieutenant of Ireland]] (previously called the 'Lord Deputy'), which was ultimately answerable not to it but to the English/British Government in London.

Over the centuries, the Irish parliament met in a number of locations both inside and outside Dublin. Among its most famous meeting places were [[Dublin Castle]], the ''Bluecoat School'', ''Chichester House'' and its final permanent home, the [[Irish Houses of Parliament]] in [[College Green, Dublin|College Green]], also sometimes called the Irish Parliament House. It is now generally called the "Bank of Ireland", an institution which took ownership of the building in 1804 and used it as its headquarters until the 1970s, when a new headquarters was built. The former seat of parliament remains a branch of the bank.

In 1642–49, during the [[Wars of the Three Kingdoms]], there was brief experiment in independent Irish government known as [[Confederate Ireland]]. Its legislature, the General Assembly, met once a year in [[Kilkenny]] to review the work of the executive branch (which it appointed) - the Supreme Council.