231:, bishop of Ossory, made for personal compensation at the Union contains a statement which is of value in the representative history of Ireland. It puts beyond question the reasons which induced the bishops to trouble themselves with borough management. After advancing five statements in support of his case that the borough of Irishtown had long been under the individual control of successive bishops of Ossory, Hamilton affirmed that the control so exercised by himself and his predecessors had "given the bishops of Ossory so much additional consequence, and obtained for them so much attention from Government, that the bishops of that see, with the exception of only two bishops, who died soon after their appointment, for above a century past have been all translated to much more eligible bishoprics." Hamilton further urged that by the Union he was to be deprived of "that influence and consequence which his predecessors always enjoyed, and from which they derived great advantage"; and therefore he considered himself entitled to claim any allowance which might be awarded for the extinction of Irishtown as a Parliamentary borough.
481:." The local clergymen at Cashel were active among the resident freemen, lending them money and rendering them other services in the interest of the archbishop, who bestowed preferment on clergymen who aided him in his management and control of the borough. But although, in the early decades of the eighteenth century, Palliser was in full control of Cashel, it did not become, like Irishtown, Clogher, Old Leighlin, or Armagh, permanently a bishop's borough; and for seventy years before the
131:, "as a person very well qualified for that trust, on account of his conformity to the Church, and consequently his loyalty to the King." "And indeed," added the archbishop, "I must needs say, with much comfort, for the few English Protestants there incorporated, that they seem to be very well principled, all very uniform in their public devotions, and manageable on any occasion readily for his Majesty's service."
327:, then bishop of Ossory, claimed as his individual property the fifteen thousand pounds which were to be paid as compensation for the disfranchisement of the borough, and in his statement of claim laid stress on the fact "that for a long series of years all elections of members of Parliament have been held in the bishop's palace-yard, and the other corporate meetings in his hall."
334:
of
Irishtown was to be true to the interests of the bishop of Ossory; that the burgesses were always elected on the recommendation of the bishop; that neither property, residence, nor service in the borough was required of any freeman; that hardly one inhabitant of the borough in 1800 was a freeman;
211:
At the Union fifteen thousand pounds were allowed as compensation in respect of each of the three bishop boroughs, Irishtown, Clogher, and Old
Leighlin. The compensation, however, did not go to the bishops, each of whom had put in an individual claim. The sum of forty-five thousand pounds was handed
183:
increased the independence of the Irish
Parliament, and at the general election of 1783, on the usual application being made to the bishops for the nominations for their boroughs, three of them answered the Lord Lieutenant that their seats were already disposed of. Northington wrote for instructions
282:
were clergymen, "who seem to have held on an express or implied stipulation to resign on quitting the diocese, or in case of their becoming unwilling to act under the archbishop's direction." As these clergymen naturally looked to the archbishop for preferment, it is improbable that there were many
147:
at Old
Leighlin, that the Irish bishops were able to maintain an easy hold on their boroughs, and, with the boroughs thus in their possession, to use the power of nomination to the House of Commons to their own advantage in the Church. The influence enjoyed by the bishops probably accounts for the
476:
to make the newly ordained clergymen freemen of the borough. Dr
Burgess, a clergyman, was mayor; and, to quote from the evidence in the election case of 1737, "the archbishop had an ordination at Cashel in Dr Burgess' mayoralty, when there were about eighteen or twenty young men ordained, and they
286:
At Armagh, in the closing years of the old representative system, the archbishop although he was not a member of the corporation, and had no constitutional connection with it commanded twelve of the thirteen votes by which the members of
Parliament for the city were elected; and "so completely was
386:
of 1747. From the
Journals little can be learned of its history; for election petitions were infrequent from any of the boroughs created by James I. These were never easy of attack; and Old Leighlin was doubtless managed, as was the borough of Armagh, with the corporation largely composed of the
138:
the bishops continued their interest in municipal politics with a view to
Parliamentary influence; and in the eighteenth century bishops were frequently of the great borough-owning families, and were often borough managers on their own account. The method of securing borough control through
425:
in the cathedral, and the exercise of that right." For some time the corporation apparently existed in this loose form, and the occupants of the stalls in the cathedral were the sole electors of the members from
Clogher; but in the middle of the eighteenth century the freeholders of the
421:. "We are unable," wrote the Municipal Commissioners who visited the borough in 1833, "to discover any trace of the existence of a corporation, beyond what may arise from the right to vote for members of Parliament having been attached by the bishops of Clogher to the grant of each
456:, and in the early part of the eighteenth century it was as much a bishop's borough as Armagh. Evidence of the archbishop's political control of Cashel is to be found in the Journals for 1737. The methods of borough management there were then very similar to those at Armagh.
283:
resignations under the last clause of the agreement; and a corporation so managed must have been as easy to control as through tenants who had taken an oath, and against whom, moreover, the agent had the additional lever of the "hanging gale" (rent arrears).
155:
A. P. W. Malcomson suggests that the appointment of cathedral clergy as burgesses of the corporations of
Irishtown, Clogher, and Old Leighlin was a consequence of the scarcity of other resident members of the Church of Ireland; although the
335:
and that the influence of the bishop had always been so powerful that all members of Parliament and burgesses had been uniformly elected on his recommendation, without one instance to the contrary. In 1779, the Lord Lieutenant the
343:
for the see of Ossory, and reminded North that there was a borough with the see, "which requires a great deal of management," adding that for this work Hotham "appears to me particularly well qualified."
71:, and their bishops at the time applied for the standard £15,000 compensation due to patrons of disenfranchised boroughs; however, the Commissioners rejected these claims, and awarded the money to the
430:
tendered their votes at an election. They were refused; and they petitioned Parliament against the return. The House of Commons admitted their right to vote; and Clogher thus became a
200:
controlled the borough of Old Leighlin, was the only bishop who at this general election gave his two seats to the Government. Cope was rewarded by the promotion of his brother-in-law
489:
family, who held it, not as Palliser had done by making many freemen, but by restricting the number and electing none but members of the Pennefather family into the corporation.
765:
320:
to gentlemen, thereby making them free; and as often as the bishop desired it, the same was done." Cockets were the titles by which freemen established their right to vote.
330:
Among the grounds proffered for the bishop's claim to the compensation to be awarded at the Union was that, by immemorial custom, part of the oath of office taken by the
287:
the election of the members considered to be in the primate, that he regularly paid the expenses of the admission of the free burgesses, amounting to five pounds each."
217:
245:
76:
417:, and by its constitution the corporation was to consist of a portreeve and twelve burgesses, and the first members were to be nominated by the then
353:
56:
431:
296:
64:
312:
but forming a separate borough, called Irishtown or St Canice. The 1707 election was held indoors because of bad weather, in the hall of the
669:
396:
60:
443:
175:. The idea that these boroughs were the property of the bishops, to be used as other borough proprietors used their boroughs, dated from
92:
139:
dependents was one which was sometimes acted upon by the bishops who were in control of boroughs. It was chiefly through the clergy, as
498:
96:
374:. The elective franchise was in the portreeve and twelve free burgesses. When the Irish Municipal Commissioners made their visit to
336:
84:
184:
from London in this emergency. "Was he," he asked, " to signify to these prelates his Majesty's disapprobation of their conduct?"
201:
176:
323:
The connection thus early existing between the bishops and the borough of Irishtown continued to the last; for at the Union
167:
Until 1783, the four boroughs belonging to the bishops, Irishtown, Clogher, Old Leighlin, and Armagh, had been regarded as
780:
434:. The bishops, however, never lost their control, and at the Union Clogher was dealt with as one of the bishop boroughs.
733:
710:
216:, subject to the condition that the interest accruing from it should be expended in such a way as would best promote
120:
378:
there were only twenty houses and not more than one hundred inhabitants. It must have been an easy borough for the
107:
Even before seats in the House of Commons were greatly valued, the Irish bishops had interested themselves in the
596:
524:
473:
148:
abortive motion in the House of Commons in 1710, "that leave be given to bring in the heads of a bill to prevent
192:] is unwilling to interfere, but he agrees with your excellency, that it is extremely improper conduct."
520:
379:
340:
197:
172:
775:
516:
457:
135:
39:
where the patron who controlled the borough was the bishop for the time being of the diocese of the
770:
464:
from 1696 until 1726. He was a freeman of the borough; and was active in the election of mayor and
449:
171:
property, and as providing opportunities for bringing into the House of Commons men connected with
17:
551:
316:. For many years prior to 1734, it was the custom of the bishop to order the portreeve "to give
588:
Further Proceedings of Commissioners under Union Compensation Act of Ireland (Boroughs &c.)
324:
259:
228:
221:
161:
36:
700:
586:
482:
213:
108:
99:
were originally archbishops' boroughs, they passed to lay patrons in the eighteenth century.
88:
72:
461:
414:
263:
193:
180:
80:
52:
630:
Malcomson, A. P. W. (March 1973). "The Newtown Act of 1748: Revision and Reconstruction".
8:
550:. Vol. 2: Scotland and Ireland. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. pp.
545:
367:
301:
140:
468:, because by these officers the making of freemen was controlled. It was usual after an
647:
578:
Proceedings of Commissioners under Union Compensation Act of Ireland (Boroughs &c.)
512:
486:
371:
309:
116:
68:
706:
576:
418:
143:
in Irishtown and Cashel, as members of the corporation in Clogher and Armagh, and as
40:
639:
313:
205:
702:
Their Fathers' Daughters: Hannah More, Maria Edgeworth, and Patriarchal Complicity
16:
This article is about the Irish boroughs. For the Bishop of Durham's borough, see
453:
279:
128:
410:
144:
32:
643:
759:
508:
406:
363:
255:
581:. Sessional Papers. Vol. 1803–04 HC VIII (159) 675. HMSO. 7 July 1804.
375:
359:
547:
The unreformed House of Commons; parliamentary representation before 1832
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427:
422:
383:
275:
157:
651:
591:. Sessional Papers. Vol. 1805 HC VII (89) 597. HMSO. 26 April 1805.
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267:
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112:
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of the Established Church; a decision Porritt describes as "certainly
331:
271:
168:
44:
465:
305:
124:
402:
317:
251:
160:
of 1748 allowed non-resident burgesses, this did not apply to "
149:
409:
was originally a corporation borough. It was enfranchised by
87:
at Westminster and under the archbishop's control until the
504:
339:
was writing to the prime minister Lord North to recommend
266:. The sovereign of Armagh corporation was the primate's
164:", a class which arguably included all cathedral towns.
543:
515:
from its enfranchisement in 1614, but it passed to the
766:
Constituencies of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801)
188:, the British prime minister, replied: "The King [
638:(71): 313–344, esp. p.319, fn.18 & p.328, fn.41.
692:
670:"Peer pressure: the Irish House of Lords, 1780–1801"
47:
was within the borough. All bishops were themselves
246:
Armagh Borough (Parliament of Ireland constituency)
698:
354:Old Leighlin (Parliament of Ireland constituency)
757:
536:Text mostly adapted from this public-domain book
150:the promotion of any spiritual person for reward
699:Kowaleski-Wallace, Elizabeth (3 October 1991).
511:, was a corporation borough controlled by the
297:St Canice (Parliament of Ireland constituency)
663:
661:
397:Clogher (Parliament of Ireland constituency)
444:Cashel (Parliament of Ireland constituency)
544:Porritt, Edward; Annie G. Porritt (1903).
658:
629:
499:Tuam (Parliament of Ireland constituency)
705:. Oxford University Press. p. 149.
758:
667:
485:, Cashel was in the possession of the
382:to manage: easier than ever after the
234:
127:Thomas Cartwright, the newly elected
668:Murphy, Charlotte (May–June 2010).
111:and in municipal politics. In 1680
13:
14:
792:
477:were all admitted freemen of the
258:, was the episcopal seat of the
738:History of the Irish Parliament
601:History of the Irish Parliament
347:
740:. Ulster Historical Foundation
726:
623:
603:. Ulster Historical Foundation
67:) were disenfranchised by the
1:
616:
214:Commissioners of First-Fruits
380:bishop of Ferns and Leighlin
304:was a suburb of the city of
290:
198:bishop of Ferns and Leighlin
55:. Three bishop's boroughs (
7:
10:
797:
781:Protestantism and politics
530:
527:'s daughter Anne in 1714.
496:
441:
394:
390:
387:clergymen of the diocese.
370:, one of the creations of
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294:
243:
102:
15:
644:10.1017/S0021121400025840
437:
239:
632:Irish Historical Studies
450:Cashel, County Tipperary
18:Crossgate, County Durham
492:
337:Earl of Buckinghamshire
218:residence of the clergy
179:'s administration. The
260:primate of All Ireland
136:the 1688–91 Revolution
109:municipal corporations
65:St Canice or Irishtown
37:Irish House of Commons
483:Irish Reform Act 1832
413:in the fifth year of
89:Irish Reform Act 1832
85:remained enfranchised
73:Board of First Fruits
474:St. John's Cathedral
462:archbishop of Cashel
264:Archbishop of Armagh
181:Constitution of 1782
81:Archbishop of Armagh
53:Irish House of Lords
523:married archbishop
368:corporation borough
235:Particular boroughs
513:Archbishop of Tuam
310:county of the city
117:archbishop of Tuam
69:Acts of Union 1800
776:Church of Ireland
419:bishop of Clogher
202:Archibald Acheson
41:Church of Ireland
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597:"Constituencies"
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582:
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458:William Palliser
314:bishop of Ossory
227:The claim which
206:Viscount Gosford
177:Lord Northington
25:bishop's borough
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795:
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771:Rotten boroughs
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454:freeman borough
446:
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401:The village of
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129:mayor of Galway
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51:members of the
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497:Main article:
494:
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442:Main article:
439:
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411:letters patent
395:Main article:
392:
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358:The hamlet of
352:Main article:
349:
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295:Main article:
292:
289:
244:Main article:
241:
238:
236:
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204:from Baron to
173:the Government
104:
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33:pocket borough
29:bishop borough
9:
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568:Other sources
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521:Henry Bingham
519:family after
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509:County Galway
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475:
471:
467:
463:
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407:County Tyrone
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364:County Carlow
361:
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328:
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325:Hugh Hamilton
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311:
308:, within the
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281:
277:
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256:County Armagh
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229:Hugh Hamilton
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19:
742:. Retrieved
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728:
716:. Retrieved
701:
694:
682:. Retrieved
677:
673:
635:
631:
625:
605:. Retrieved
600:
587:
577:
556:. Retrieved
546:
503:The town of
502:
448:The city of
447:
400:
376:Old Leighlin
360:Old Leighlin
357:
348:Old Leighlin
329:
322:
300:
285:
278:. The other
250:The city of
249:
226:
212:over to the
210:
166:
154:
133:
106:
83:'s borough,
57:Old Leighlin
48:
28:
24:
22:
607:25 February
487:Pennefather
479:corporation
384:Newtown Act
341:John Hotham
194:Walter Cope
158:Newtown Act
145:freeholders
123:to present
119:, wrote to
91:. Although
77:Armagh City
760:Categories
684:22 January
617:References
525:John Vesey
470:ordination
268:land agent
190:George III
186:Lord North
113:John Vesey
49:ex officio
554:–315, 333
415:Charles I
332:portreeve
302:Irishtown
291:Irishtown
280:burgesses
272:seneschal
270:, or the
222:equitable
196:, who as
45:cathedral
652:30005420
466:aldermen
306:Kilkenny
125:Alderman
744:2 March
718:10 July
558:1 March
531:Sources
517:Bingham
472:at the
403:Clogher
391:Clogher
372:James I
318:cockets
274:of the
141:freemen
121:Ormonde
103:History
63:, and
61:Clogher
35:in the
734:"Tuam"
709:
650:
452:was a
438:Cashel
366:was a
262:, the
252:Armagh
240:Armagh
162:cities
134:After
93:Cashel
79:, the
43:whose
31:was a
648:JSTOR
428:manor
423:stall
276:manor
169:Crown
746:2014
720:2017
707:ISBN
686:2015
609:2014
560:2014
505:Tuam
493:Tuam
460:was
97:Tuam
95:and
680:(3)
640:doi
552:307
224:".
152:."
27:or
762::
736:.
678:18
676:.
672:.
660:^
646:.
636:18
634:.
599:.
507:,
405:,
362:,
254:,
208:.
115:,
75:.
59:,
23:A
748:.
722:.
688:.
654:.
642::
611:.
562:.
20:.
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