Editing Henry Grattan (section)

==In the Irish Parliament==
Catholics, who made up the majority of the Irish population, were completely excluded from public life at this time under the [[Penal Laws (Ireland)|Penal Laws]], in force in Ireland from 1691 until the early 1780s. The Presbyterians of Ulster had a lot more power as they were primarily of British ancestry, although most of the penal laws also affected them. Power was held by the King's Viceroy and by a small element, the Anglo-Irish families loyal to the Anglican [[Church of Ireland]] who owned most of the land.

The politicians of the national party now fought for the Irish Parliament, not with the intention of liberating the Catholic majority, but to set the Irish parliament free from constitutional bondage to the British [[Privy Council of the United Kingdom|Privy Council]]. By virtue of [[Poynings' Law (on certification of acts)|Poynings' Law]], a statute of King [[Henry VII of England]], all proposed Irish legislation had to be submitted to the Privy Council for its approval under the [[Great Seal of the Realm|Great Seal of England]] before being passed by the Irish Parliament. A bill so approved might be accepted or rejected, but not amended. More recent British Acts had further emphasised the complete dependence of the Irish parliament, and the appellate jurisdiction of the [[Irish House of Lords]] had also been annulled. Moreover, the British Houses claimed and exercised the power to legislate directly for Ireland without even the nominal concurrence of the parliament in Dublin. This was the constitution which [[William Molyneux]] and Swift had denounced, which Flood had attacked, and which Grattan was to destroy, becoming leaders of the [[Irish Patriot Party|Patriot movement]].{{sfn|McNeill|1911|p=379}}
[[File:The Irish House of Commons in 1780 by Francis Wheatley.jpg|left|thumb|'''The [[Irish House of Commons]]''' by Francis Wheatley (1780) shows Grattan (standing on right in red jacket) addressing the House of Commons]]
Calls for the legislative independence of Ireland at the [[Irish Volunteers (18th century)|Irish Volunteer]] Convention at [[Dungannon]], [[County Tyrone]], greatly influenced the [[Constitution of 1782|decision of the government in 1782]] to make concessions. It was through ranks of Volunteers drawn up outside the Irish Parliament in Dublin that Grattan passed on 16 April 1782, amidst unparalleled popular enthusiasm, to move a declaration of the independence of the Irish parliament. A posthumous publication of Grattan's speeches which were revised by Grattan himself contains his speech from this day which became famous in Irish political history: "I found Ireland on her knees," Grattan exclaimed, "I watched over her with a paternal solicitude; I have traced her progress from injuries to arms, and from arms to liberty. Spirit of Swift, spirit of Molyneux, your genius has prevailed! Ireland is now a nation!" However, the parliamentary register for that sitting contains no record of these lines meaning Grattan most likely altered the speech in later years.<ref>O'Brien, Gerard. "The Grattan Mystique." ''Eighteenth-Century Ireland/Iris an dá chultúr'' (1986): 177–194. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/30070822 in JSTOR]</ref> After a month of negotiation, the claims of Ireland were conceded. The gratitude of his countrymen to Grattan was shown by a parliamentary grant of £100,000, which had to be reduced by half before he would accept it.{{sfn|McNeill|1911|p=379}}

Grattan then asked for the British House of Commons to reconfirm the [[British Government]]'s decision, and on 22 January 1783, the final Act was passed by parliament in London, including the text:
{{blockquote|Be it enacted that the right claimed by the people of Ireland to be bound only by laws enacted by his Majesty and the Parliament of that kingdom, in all cases whatever shall be, and is hereby declared to be established and ascertained for ever, and shall at no time be questioned or questionable.}} In September of the same year, Grattan became a member of the [[Privy Council of Ireland]]. He was expelled in 1798, but was re-admitted on 9 August 1806.

In Dublin, he was a member of [[Daly's Club]].<ref>T.H.S. Escott (1913) ''Club Makers and Club Members''. [https://archive.org/stream/cu31924028066979#page/n371/mode/2up pp. 329–333]</ref>