Irish bishops in the house of lords, 1801-70

Summary

Under the terms of the act of union in 1800, bishops of the Church of Ireland were entitled to sit in the house of lords on a rotation basis. The four archbishops served in succession, as did three diocesan bishops at each session of the United Kingdom parliament. Owing to some confusion, the Irish bishops did not take their seats until 1803, at which time the rotation was reckoned to have started with the second UK parliament (in the case of the archbishops) but with the first in the case of the bishops. The system continued unaltered until the suppression of two archbishoprics and ten bishoprics in 1834. The changes took effect at the death of the incumbent, a process which was not finally completed until 1854, though in that year the bishop ofTuam became a lay peer by inheritance and Tuam was therefore passed over until after his death in 1866. The overall representation of the bishops remained unchanged, which meant that individual prelates were summoned more frequently. Attendance was very poor in the initial years, but it improved somewhat after 1834, perhaps because of better transport links as much as anything else. After the passage of the disestablishment bill in July 1869, the Irish bishops no longer attended the sessions, though they were entitled to do so until the end of 1870.