Great Britain, Administrative Law, Legal History, Ireland, Law, Politics and government, Polynings' law 

Irish Legal History Society 

Poynings' Law (1494) was one of the most crucial statutes ever enacted by the Irish parliament, yet the law's crucial impact on parliament's operations from 1660 has never been examined systematically. James Kelly examines how Poynings' Law impacted on the legislative operations of the Irish parliament between the Restoration and the Act of Union, and he establishes how the Irish parliament contrived, first, by evolving a sophisticated heads of bills process in the late 17th century, second, by curtailing the power of the Irish privy council in the early 18th century, and finally, by securing the amendment of Poynings' Law in 1782, to achieve a degree of legislative independence that endured until the Act of Union. Based on a close and detailed scrutiny of the records of the Irish parliament and the systematic exploration for the first time of the voluminous records of the British privy council, this book provides a new, revealing perspective on the working of the Irish parliament, its relationship with the Irish executive and on the nature of the Anglo-Irish connection.  

Content:
The historiographical and evidential context Poynings' Law, 1494-1641 -- The Restoration parliament, 1661-6 -- The heads of bills process established, 1692-9 -- Refining the process, 1703-13 -- An efficient arrangement, 1715-60 -- The erosion of legislative dependence, 1761-82 -- The meaning and implications of legislative independence, 1782-1800. 

Includes bibliographical references (p. 367-378) and index.
Item donated by Graham Price.
Categorized by organization (Irish Legal History Society (ILHS)), then author/editor, then year.