Irish Convention (1660)

Last updated April 09, 2019

The Irish Convention sat 7 February, 2 March and 27 May 1660, and again January 1661. It sought to restore the monarchy, episcopacy and also the right for the King's Irish Parliament to tax and legislate for itself, rejecting claims of legislative supremacy by the King's English Parliament.^[1]

The Parliament of Ireland was the legislature of the Lordship of Ireland, and later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1297 until 1800. It was modelled on the Parliament of England and from 1537 comprised two chambers: the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The Lords were members of the Irish peerage and bishops. The Commons was directly elected, albeit on a very restricted franchise. Parliaments met at various places in Leinster and Munster, but latterly always in Dublin: in Christchurch Cathedral, Dublin Castle, Chichester House (1661–1727), the Blue Coat School (1729–31), and finally a purpose-built Parliament House on College Green.

The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England, existing from the early 13th century until 1707, when it merged with the Parliament of Scotland to become the Parliament of Great Britain after the political union of England and Scotland created the Kingdom of Great Britain.

Sir Charles Coote was a central figure in the Convention.^[2] In May 1660 the Convention asked the King of Ireland to "call a parliament consisting of Protestant peers and commons. It was also requested that the Church of Ireland should again be established"^[3]

Charles Coote, 1st Earl of Mountrath was an Anglo-Irish peer, the son of Sir Charles Coote, 1st Baronet, and Dorothea Cuffe, the former being an English veteran of the Battle of Kinsale (1601) who subsequently settled in Ireland.

Charles II was king of England, Scotland and Ireland. He was king of Scotland from 1649 until his deposition in 1651, and king of England, Scotland and Ireland from the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 until his death.

The Church of Ireland is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second largest Christian church on the island after the Roman Catholic Church. Like other Anglican churches, it has retained elements of pre-Reformation practice, notably its episcopal polity, while rejecting the primacy of the Bishop of Rome. In theological and liturgical matters, it incorporates many principles of the Reformation, particularly those espoused during the English Reformation. The church self-identifies as being both Catholic and Reformed. Within the church, differences exist between those members who are more Catholic-leaning and those who are more Protestant-leaning. For historical and cultural reasons, the Church of Ireland is generally identified as a Protestant church.

The Convention Parliament was dissolved by Charles II in January 1661 and he summoned his parliament in Ireland in May 1661.

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References

↑ Connolly, S.J. (Editor) Oxford Companion to Irish History Oxford University Press (1998) p113-114
↑ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography volume 13 (2002) p 295
↑ T. W. Moody, F. X. Martin, F. J. Byrne A New History of Ireland, Volume III: Early Modern Ireland 1534-1691 Oxford University Press (1976) p420

Irish Convention (1660)

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