REPRESENTATIVE PEERS - IRELAND
Under the Act of Union of 1800 between Great Britain and Ireland, provision was made for the election by the Irish peers of 28 of their number to represent them in the House of Lords. Once elected, such peers held their places for life and those not elected were free to offer themselves as candidates for election to the House of Commons, as in the case of Earl Winterton, who sat in the Commons for 47 years, ending his service as "Father of the House".
Writs for the election of the Irish representative peers were issued by the Lord Chancellor of Ireland. No election has taken place since 1919 and the post of Lord Chancellor of Ireland was abolished after the establishment of the Irish Free State. The last Irish representative peer (the 4th Earl of Kilmorey) died in 1961. In 1966 the House of Lords Committee for Privileges decided against a petition to revive the practice of such elections - for further information see the note at the foot of this page.
As part of the Peerage Act 1963, Section 5 provided that an Irish peer can be elected as a member of the House of Commons for any constituency in the United Kingdom. Prior to this Act, an Irish peer was not permitted to be elected for a constituency in Northern Ireland.
My thanks to Edward Law for planting the idea for compiling this information.
Date   No. Replacing Name Born Died Age
The original Representative Peers, arranged in order of date of death
2 Aug 1800 1 - Robert Cuninghame, 1st Baron Rossmore 18 Apr 1726 6 Aug 1801 75
2 - Robert Clements, 1st Earl of Leitrim 25 Nov 1732 27 Jul 1804 71
3 - Otway Cuffe, 1st Earl of Desart 1737 9 Aug 1804 67
4 - Francis Mathew, 1st Earl of Landaff Sep 1738 30 Jul 1806 67
5 - Lawrence Harman Parsons, 1st Viscount Oxmantown, later [1806] 1st Earl of Rosse 26 Jul 1749 20 Apr 1807 57
6 - John Thomas de Burgh, 1st Earl of Clanricarde 22 Sep 1744 27 Jul 1808 63
7 - John Denis Browne, 3rd Earl of Altamont, later [Dec 1800] 1st Marquess of Sligo 11 Jun 1756 2 Jan 1809 52
8 - Charles Agar, 1st Baron Somerton, later [1806] 1st Earl of Normanton 22 Dec 1736 14 Jul 1809 72
9 - Richard Longfield, 1st Baron Longueville, later [Dec 1800] 1st Viscount Longueville 9 Oct 1734 23 May 1811 76
10 - George Frederick Nugent, 7th Earl of Westmeath 18 Nov 1760 30 Dec 1814 54
11 - John Crosbie, 2nd Earl of Glandore 25 May 1753 23 Oct 1815 62
12 - Robert Howard, 2nd Earl of Wicklow 7 Aug 1757 23 Oct 1815 58
13 - George Agar, 1st Baron Callan 18 Apr 1754 29 Oct 1815 61
14 - Thomas Knox, 1st Viscount Northland 20 Apr 1729 5 Nov 1818 89
15 - Richard Butler, 10th Baron Caher, later [1816] 1st Earl of Glengall 13 Nov 1775 30 Jan 1819 43
16 - Robert Jocelyn, 2nd Earl of Roden 26 Oct 1756 29 Jun 1820 63
17 - Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Londonderry, later [1816] 1st Marquess of Londonderry 27 Sep 1739 8 Apr 1821 81
18 - James Cuffe, 1st Baron Tyrawley by 1747 15 Jun 1821
19 - Richard Hely-Hutchinson, 1st Viscount Donoughmore, later [Dec 1800] 1st Earl of Donoughmore 29 Jan 1756 22 Aug 1825 69
20 - Hugh Carleton, 1st Viscount Carleton of Clare 11 Sep 1739 25 Feb 1826 86
21 - John Creighton, 1st Earl Erne 1731 15 Dec 1828 97
22 - Thomas Taylour, 2nd Earl of Bective, later [Dec 1800] 1st Marquess of Headfort 18 Nov 1757 24 Oct 1829 71
23 - Francis Bernard, 1st Viscount Bandon, later [Aug 1800] 1st Earl of Bandon 26 Nov 1755 26 Nov 1830 75
24 - Henry Conyngham, 3rd Earl Conyngham, later [1816] 1st Marquess Conyngham 26 Dec 1766 28 Dec 1832 66
25 - Thomas Pakenham, 2nd Earl of Longford 14 May 1774 28 May 1835 61
26 - Richard Bingham, 2nd Earl of Lucan 4 Dec 1764 30 Jun 1839 74
27 - Charles Henry St. John O'Neill, 1st Earl O'Neill 22 Jan 1779 25 Mar 1841 62
28 - Edmond Henry Pery, 2nd Baron Glentworth, later [1803] 1st Earl of Limerick 8 Jan 1758 7 Dec 1844 86

2 Nov 1801 29 1 Charles William Bury, 1st Viscount Charleville, later [1806] 1st Earl of Charleville 30 Jun 1764 31 Oct 1835 71
13 Oct 1804 30 2 John Willoughby Cole, 2nd Earl of Enniskillen 23 Mar 1768 31 Mar 1840 72
26 Nov 1804 31 3 Du Pre Alexander, 2nd Earl of Caledon 14 Dec 1777 8 Apr 1839 61
12 Dec 1806 32 4 Francis William Caulfeild, 2nd Earl of Charlemont 3 Jan 1775 26 Dec 1863 88
11 Jul 1807 33 5 George King, 3rd Earl of Kingston 28 Apr 1771 18 Oct 1839 68
16 Dec 1808 34 6 Richard le Poer-Trench, 2nd Earl of Clancarty 18 May 1767 24 Nov 1837 70
15 Apr 1809 35 7 Charles John Gardiner, 2nd Viscount Mountjoy, later [1816] 1st Earl of Blessington 19 Jul 1782 25 May 1829 46
22 Oct 1809 36 8 Lawrence Parsons, 2nd Earl of Rosse 21 May 1758 24 Feb 1841 82
19 Aug 1811 37 9 Archibald Acheson, 2nd Earl of Gosford 1 Aug 1776 27 Mar 1849 72
24 Mar 1815 38 10 Stephen Moore, 2nd Earl Mount Cashell 19 Mar 1770 27 Oct 1822 52
2 Mar 1816 39 11 John James Maxwell, 2nd Earl of Farnham 5 Feb 1760 23 Jul 1823 63
2 Mar 1816 40 12 John Bourke, 4th Earl of Mayo 18 Jun 1766 23 May 1849 82
2 Mar 1816 41 13 William O'Brien, 2nd Marquess of Thomond c 1765 21 Aug 1846
13 Mar 1819 42 14 Somerset Richard Butler, 3rd Earl of Carrick 28 Sep 1779 4 Feb 1838 58
5 May 1819 43 15 Somerset Lowry-Corry, 2nd Earl of Belmore 11 Jul 1774 18 Apr 1841 66
7 Oct 1820 44 16 James Stevenson Blackwood, 2nd Baron Dufferin & Claneboye 8 Jul 1755 8 Aug 1836 81
3 Aug 1821 45 17 Richard Wingfield, 5th Viscount Powerscourt 11 Sep 1790 9 Aug 1823 32
10 Nov 1821 46 18 William Howard, 4th Earl of Wicklow 13 Feb 1788 22 Mar 1869 81
8 Feb 1823 47 38 Robert Edward King, 1st Viscount Lorton 12 Aug 1773 20 Nov 1854 81
30 Jan 1824 48 39 John Evans-Freke, 6th Baron Carbery 11 Nov 1765 12 May 1845 79
30 Jan 1824 49 45 Charles Vereker, 2nd Viscount Gort 1768 11 Nov 1842 74
17 Dec 1825 50 19 John Maxwell-Barry, 5th Baron Farnham 18 Jan 1767 20 Sep 1838 71
1 Jul 1826 51 20 Stephen Moore, 3rd Earl Mount Cashell 20 May 1792 10 Oct 1883 91
19 Dec 1828 52 21 Henry Sadlier Prittie, 2nd Baron Dunalley 3 Mar 1775 19 Oct 1854 79
1 Sep 1829 53 35 Richard Butler, 2nd Earl of Glengall 17 May 1794 22 Jan 1858 63
15 Mar 1830 54 22 Hayes St. Leger, 3rd Viscount Doneraile 9 May 1786 27 Mar 1854 67
26 Feb 1831 55 23 George Thomas John Nugent, 1st Marquess of Westmeath 17 Jul 1785 5 May 1871 85
30 Mar 1833 56 24 Ulysses de Burgh, 2nd Baron Downes of Aghanville 15 Aug 1788 26 Jul 1863 74
31 Jul 1835 57 25 James Bernard, 2nd Earl of Bandon 14 Jun 1785 31 Oct 1856 71
18 Jan 1836 58 29 Edward Wadding Plunkett, 14th Baron Dunsany 7 Apr 1773 11 Dec 1848 75
31 Oct 1836 59 44 Cornwallis Maude, 3rd Viscount Hawarden 28 Mar 1780 12 Oct 1856 76
20 Feb 1838 60 34 Robert Dillon, 3rd Baron Clonbrock 29 Mar 1807 4 Dec 1893 86
13 Apr 1838 61 42 Charles William Bury, 2nd Earl of Charleville 29 Apr 1801 14 Jul 1851 50
19 Jan 1839 62 50 John Vesey, 2nd Viscount de Vesci 15 Feb 1771 19 Oct 1855 84
2 Jul 1839 63 31 Henry Maxwell, 7th Baron Farnham 9 Aug 1799 20 Aug 1868 69
21 Sep 1839 64 26 Windham Henry Wyndham‑Quin, 2nd Earl of Dunraven & Mount Earl 24 Sep 1782 6 Aug 1850 67
21 Jan 1840 65 33 Edward Crofton, 2nd Baron Crofton 1 Aug 1806 27 Dec 1869 63
22 Jun 1840 66 30 George Charles Bingham, 3rd Earl of Lucan 16 Apr 1800 10 Nov 1888 88
8 May 1841 67 36 James Du Pre Alexander, 3rd Earl of Caledon 27 Jul 1812 30 Jun 1855 42
12 Jun 1841 68 27 Cadwallader Davis Blayney, 12th Baron Blayney 19 Dec 1802 18 Jan 1874 71
6 Jul 1841 69 43 Richard Handcock, 3rd Baron Castlemaine 17 Nov 1791 4 Jul 1869 77
31 Jan 1843 70 49 John Bruce Richard O'Neill, 2nd Viscount O'Neill 30 Dec 1780 12 Feb 1855 74
24 Feb 1845 71 28 William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse 17 Jun 1800 31 Oct 1867 67
24 Jul 1845 72 48 John Crichton, 3rd Earl Erne 30 Jul 1802 3 Oct 1885 83
11 Dec 1846 73 41 John Otway O'Connor Cuffe, 3rd Earl of Desart 12 Oct 1818 1 Apr 1865 46
16 Apr 1849 74 58 Eyre Massey, 3rd Baron Clarina 6 May 1798 18 Nov 1872 74
22 Jun 1849 75 37 John Cavendish Browne, 3rd Baron Kilmaine 11 Jun 1794 13 Jan 1873 78
14 Aug 1849 76 40 George John Danvers Butler‑Danvers, 5th Earl of Lanesborough 6 Dec 1794 7 Jul 1866 71
19 Nov 1850 77 64 Randall Edward Plunkett, 15th Baron Dunsany 5 Sep 1804 7 Apr 1852 47
23 Sep 1851 78 61 Denis St.George Daly, 2nd Baron Dunsandle & Clanconal 10 Jul 1810 11 Jan 1893 82
22 Jun 1852 79 77 Robert Bourke, 5th Earl of Mayo 12 Jan 1797 12 Aug 1867 70
1 Jul 1854 80 54 Richard White, 2nd Earl of Bantry 16 Nov 1800 16 Jul 1868 67
9 Jan 1855 81 52 Edward Ward, 4th Viscount Bangor 23 Feb 1827 14 Sep 1881 54
2 May 1855 82 47 Hayes St. Leger, 4th Viscount Doneraile 1 Oct 1818 26 Aug 1887 68
11 Sep 1855 83 70 Arthur Hill-Trevor, 3rd Viscount Dungannon 9 Nov 1798 11 Aug 1862 63
24 Oct 1855 84 67 Henry John Reuben Dawson‑Damer, 3rd Earl of Portarlington 5 Sep 1822 1 Mar 1889 66
23 Jan 1856 85 62 James Hewitt, 4th Viscount Lifford 31 Mar 1811 20 Nov 1887 76
10 Jan 1857 86 59 Thomas Vesey, 3rd Viscount de Vesci 21 Sep 1803 23 Dec 1875 72
13 Jan 1857 87 57 Somerset Lowry-Corry, 4th Earl of Belmore 9 Apr 1835 6 Apr 1913 77
21 Aug 1858 88 53 Francis Bernard, 3rd Earl of Bandon 3 Jan 1810 17 Feb 1877 67
2 Dec 1862 89 83 Cornwallis Maude, 4th Viscount Hawarden, later [1886] 1st Earl de Montalt 4 Apr 1817 9 Jan 1905 87
20 Oct 1863 90 56 Lucius O'Brien, 13th Baron Inchiquin 5 Dec 1800 22 Mar 1872 71
8 Mar 1864 91 32 Edward Plunkett, 16th Baron Dunsany 29 Nov 1808 22 Feb 1889 80
13 Jun 1865 92 73 John Prendergast Vereker, 3rd Viscount Gort 1 Jul 1790 20 Oct 1865 75
26 Dec 1865 93 92 Mervyn Wingfield, 7th Viscount Powerscourt 13 Oct 1836 5 Jun 1904 67
14 Sep 1866 94 76 George Frederick Upton, 3rd Viscount Templetown 5 Aug 1802 4 Jan 1890 87
15 Oct 1867 95 79 William Richard Annesley, 4th Earl Annesley 21 Feb 1830 10 Aug 1874 44
11 Jan 1868 96 71 Theobald Fitzwalter Butler, 14th Baron Dunboyne 11 Feb 1806 22 Mar 1881 75
28 Sep 1868 97 80 Charles Allanson-Winn, 3rd Baron Headley 25 Jun 1810 30 Jul 1877 67
22 Dec 1868 98 63 Lawrence Parsons, 4th Earl of Rosse 17 Nov 1840 29 Aug 1908 67
6 Jul 1869 99 46 William Henry Hare Hedges‑White, 3rd Earl of Bantry 10 Nov 1801 15 Jan 1884 82
6 Sep 1869 100 69 Geoffrey Dominick Augustus Frederick Guthrie‑Browne, 2nd Baron Oranmore & Browne 8 Jun 1819 15 Nov 1900 81
5 Apr 1870 101 65 John Vansittart Danvers Butler‑Danvers, 6th Earl of Lanesborough 18 Apr 1839 12 Sep 1905 66
10 Jul 1871 102 55 Dayrolles Blakeney Eveleigh‑de‑Moleyns, 4th Baron Ventry 22 Jan 1828 8 Feb 1914 86
19 Jun 1872 103 90 Charles Francis Arnold Howard, 5th Earl of Wicklow 5 Nov 1839 20 Jun 1881 41
11 Feb 1873 104 74 Edward Henry Churchill Crofton, 3rd Baron Crofton 21 Oct 1834 22 Sep 1912 77
5 Apr 1873 105 75 Edward Donough O'Brien, 14th Baron Inchiquin 14 May 1839 9 Apr 1900 60
9 May 1874 106 68 Richard Handcock, 4th Baron Castlemaine 25 Jul 1826 26 Apr 1892 65
10 Nov 1874 107 95 John Henry Reginald Scott, 4th Earl of Clonmell 2 Mar 1839 22 Jun 1891 52
14 Mar 1876 108 86 John Thomas William Massy, 6th Baron Massy 30 Aug 1835 28 Nov 1915 80
28 Apr 1877 109 88 Hugh Annesley, 5th Earl Annesley 26 Jan 1831 15 Dec 1908 77
30 Oct 1877 110 97 James Alexander, 4th Earl of Caledon 11 Jul 1846 27 Apr 1898 51
6 Jun 1881 111 96 James Francis Bernard, 4th Earl of Bandon 12 Sep 1850 18 May 1924 73
23 Aug 1881 112 103 Edward Nugent Leeson, 6th Earl of Milltown 9 Oct 1835 30 May 1890 54
31 Dec 1881 113 81 Francis Charles Needham, 3rd Earl of Kilmorey 3 Aug 1842 28 Jul 1915 72
20 Dec 1883 114 51 Charles Mark Allanson‑Winn, 4th Baron Headley 4 Dec 1845 13 Jan 1913 67
14 Mar 1884 115 99 Hercules Edward Rowley, 4th Baron Langford 1 Jun 1848 29 Oct 1919 71
12 Jan 1886 116 72 Henry William Crosbie Ward, 5th Viscount Bangor 26 Jul 1828 23 Feb 1911 82
24 Oct 1887 117 82 Henry Ernest Newcomen King‑Tenison, 8th Earl of Kingston 31 Jul 1848 13 Jan 1896 47
23 Jan 1888 118 85 Cecil Ralph Howard, 6th Earl of Wicklow 26 Mar 1842 24 Jul 1891 49
31 Dec 1888 119 66 Eyre Challoner Henry Massey, 4th Baron Clarina 29 Apr 1830 16 Dec 1897 67
8 Apr 1889 120 91 Thomas Kane McClintock-Bunbury, 2nd Baron Rathdonnell 29 Nov 1848 22 May 1929 80
19 Apr 1889 121 84 George Bingham, 4th Earl of Lucan 8 May 1830 5 Jun 1914 84
21 Feb 1890 122 94 Francis William Browne, 4th Baron Kilmaine 24 Mar 1843 9 Nov 1907 64
14 Jul 1890 123 112 Dermot Robert Wyndham Bourke, 7th Earl of Mayo 2 Jul 1851 31 Dec 1927 76
3 Aug 1891 124 107 William Charles Evans-Freke, 8th Baron Carbery 24 May 1812 7 Nov 1894 82
9 Oct 1891 125 118 Henry O'Callaghan Prittie, 4th Baron Dunalley 21 Mar 1851 5 Aug 1927 76
13 Jun 1892 126 106 Hamilton Matthew Tilson Fitzmaurice Deane‑Morgan, 4th Baron Muskerry 18 May 1854 9 Jun 1929 75
6 Mar 1893 127 78 John William Plunkett, 17th Baron Dunsany 31 Aug 1853 16 Jan 1899 45
29 Jan 1894 128 60 Henry Edward Montagu Dorington Clotworthy Upton, 4th Viscount Templetown 20 Apr 1853 30 Sep 1939 86
21 Jan 1895 129 124 Luke Gerald Dillon, 4th Baron Clonbrock 10 Mar 1834 12 May 1917 83
20 Mar 1896 130 117 George Lionel Henry Seymour Dawson‑Damer, 5th Earl of Portarlington 19 Aug 1858 31 Aug 1900 42
7 Mar 1898 131 119 Albert Edward Handcock, 5th Baron Castlemaine 26 Mar 1863 6 Jul 1937 74
22 Jul 1898 132 110 Somerset Henry Maxwell, 10th Baron Farnham 7 Mar 1849 22 Nov 1900 51
31 Mar 1899 133 127 Ponsonby William Moore, 9th Earl of Drogheda 29 Apr 1846 28 Oct 1908 62
5 Jun 1900 134 105 Raymond Harvey de Montmorency, 3rd Viscount Frankfort de Montmorency 21 Sep 1835 7 May 1902 66
23 Nov 1900 135 130 Lucius William O'Brien, 15th Baron Inchiquin 21 Jun 1864 9 Dec 1929 65
4 Jan 1901 136 100 Robert St. John Fitzwalter Butler, 16th Baron Dunboyne 20 Jan 1844 29 Aug 1913 69
4 Feb 1901 137 132 Anthony Francis Nugent, 11th Earl of Westmeath 11 Jan 1870 12 Dec 1933 63
11 Jul 1902 138 134 Geoffrey Henry Browne, 3rd Baron Oranmore & Browne 6 Jan 1861 30 Jun 1927 66
1 Aug 1904 139 93 Charles Bertram Bellew, 3rd Baron Bellew 19 Apr 1855 15 Jul 1911 56
10 Mar 1905 140 89 Ivo Francis Walter Bligh, 8th Earl of Darnley 13 Mar 1859 10 Apr 1927 68
27 Nov 1905 141 101 Ralph Francis Howard, 7th Earl of Wicklow 24 Dec 1877 11 Oct 1946 68
21 Jan 1908 142 122 George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Baron Curzon of Kedleston, later [1921] 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston 11 Jan 1859 20 Mar 1925 66
4 Nov 1908 143 98 Frederic Oliver Trench, 3rd Baron Ashtown
(declared bankrupt 28 Oct 1915 and therefore ineligible to continue as a Representative Peer)
2 Feb 1868 20 Mar 1946 78
18 Dec 1908 144 133 Arthur Kenlis Maxwell, 11th Baron Farnham 2 Oct 1879 5 Feb 1957 77
13 Feb 1909 145 109 Yvo Richard Vesey, 5th Viscount de Vesci 16 Dec 1881 16 Aug 1958 76
14 Apr 1911 146 116 John Edward Deane Browne, 5th Baron Kilmaine 18 Mar 1878 27 Aug 1946 68
9 Oct 1911 147 139 William Edward Parsons, 5th Earl of Rosse 14 Jun 1873 10 Jun 1918 44
18 Nov 1912 148 104 John Graham Hope de la Poer Beresford, 5th Baron Decies 5 Dec 1866 31 Jan 1944 77
7 Mar 1913 149 114 Maxwell Richard Crosbie Ward, 6th Viscount Bangor 4 May 1868 17 Nov 1950 82
2 Jun 1913 150 87 Charles John Brinsley Butler, 7th Earl of Lanesborough 12 Dec 1865 18 Aug 1929 63
21 Nov 1913 151 136 Henry Charles Ponsonby Moore, 10th Earl of Drogheda 21 Apr 1884 22 Nov 1957 73
20 Apr 1914 152 102 George Leopold Bryan Bellew-Bryan, 4th Baron Bellew 22 Jan 1857 15 Jun 1935 78
10 Aug 1914 153 121 George Charles Bingham, 5th Earl of Lucan 13 Dec 1860 20 Apr 1949 88
24 Sep 1915 154 113 Frederick Rudolph Lambart, 10th Earl of Cavan 16 Oct 1865 28 Aug 1946 80
10 Jan 1916 155 143 Arthur Edward Lowther Crofton, 4th Baron Crofton 7 Aug 1866 15 Jun 1942 75
14 Feb 1916 156 108 Francis Charles Adelbert Henry Needham, 4th Earl of Kilmorey
(the last surviving Irish Representative Peer)
26 Nov 1883 11 Jan 1961 77
13 Jul 1917 157 129 Henry Edwyn King-Tenison, 9th Earl of Kingston 19 Sep 1874 11 Jan 1946 71
19 Aug 1918 158 147 James Edward Geale Caulfeild, 8th Viscount Charlemont 12 May 1880 30 Aug 1949 69
22 Dec 1919 159 115 Robert Soame Jocelyn, 8th Earl of Roden 8 Sep 1883 30 Oct 1956 73
The attempt made in 1966 to reinstate the election process
The last Irish representative peer died in 1961. The remaining Irish peers argued that they were no longer represented in the House of Lords and sought to have the election system reinstated. After an attempt in 1962, the matter was finally resolved in 1966. The following report on judgment by the Committee for Privileges was reported in The Times on 6 July 1966:-
The Committee for Privileges, by resolution, nemine contradicente [no-one speaking against], rejected the petition of the Earl of Antrim and 11 other Irish peers asking that the House of Lords should declare that the peerage of Ireland had, in accordance with the provisions of the Union with Ireland Act, 1800, the right to be represented by 28 lords temporal of Ireland elected by the peers of Ireland for life to sit and vote in their Lordships' House with privilege of Parliament; and that the House should take all such steps as might be necessary to enable the peers of Ireland to exercise their aforesaid right and decide all questions touching the election of a lord temporal of Ireland to represent the peerage of Ireland in the House in succession to the late Francis Charles Adelbert, Earl of Kilmorey.
The terms of the resolution, in which the Committee expressed the opinion that the provisions of the Act of 1800 ceased to be effective on the passing of the Irish Free State (Agreement) Act, 1922, and that the right to elect Irish representative peers no longer existed, are set out fully at the conclusion of the opinion of Lord Reid.
Lord Reid said that the facts giving rise to this petition were briefly these: 28 Irish representative peers used to sit in this House. Each was elected for life. Before the next death of a representative peer in 1924 [the 4th Earl of Bandon], far-reaching constitutional changes had occurred in Ireland, and no election was held in 1924. At that time the reason commonly put forward and accepted was that the machinery in Ireland for an election had to be set in motion by the Lord Chancellor of Ireland and operated by the Clerk of the Crown and Hanaper; that in 1922 the office of Lord Chancellor of Ireland had been abolished and the holder of the office of the Clerk had become a civil servant of the Irish Free State; and that therefore it was impossible to hold an election. There seemed to have been little or no discussion of the question whether any right to elect representative peers still remained. The last survivor of representative peers was the Earl of Kilmorey, who died in 1961. The matter was raised in evidence submitted in 1962 to the Joint Select Committee on House of Lords Reform, which in its report was not in favour of the revival of any form of representation for the Peerage of Ireland. The present petition was thereafter prepared and presented.
The first and most important question was whether the 28 Irish representative peers ever did represent the peerage of Ireland in this House. That depended upon the proper interpretation of the Articles of Union which were incorporated in the Act for the Union of Great Britain and Ireland, 1800, and in a corresponding Act of the Irish Parliament.
His Lordship considered the relevant provisions of the Articles of Union and said that there was in them no reference to peers sitting in this House as representatives of the Irish peers, but there were numerous references to lords temporal as well as lords spiritual and commoners sitting in the Parliament of the United Kingdom "on the part of Ireland" and one reference to members of both Houses of the then existing Parliament of Great Britain continuing to sit in the new Parliament of the United Kingdom "on the part of Great Britain".
But the Act of the Irish Parliament, passed in consequence of a provision in the Act of Union, to regulate the mode by which lords spiritual and temporal and commoners to serve on the part of Ireland should be summoned and returned, was not so consistent. For several pages it used the phrase "on the part of Ireland". But then there was a change. The primate of all Ireland and three specified bishops were to be "declared to be the representatives of the lords spiritual of Ireland in the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the first session thereof"; and there was a reference to the temporal peers of Ireland proceeding "to elect 28 lords temporal to represent the peerage of Ireland in the Parliament of the United Kingdom", and that was followed by at least one more reference to sitting "as representatives of the peers of Ireland". But that was followed by a reversion to the phrase "on the part of Ireland" in two or three places.
His Lordship considered later statutory enactments and the terms of the Writs of Summons of Irish representative peers and said that so long as the Union with Ireland remained unimpaired he could think of no circumstance where it would have made any practical difference whether the elected Irish peers were truly representatives of the Irish peerage or of Ireland as a whole; so it was hardly surprising that no writer on constitutional matters appeared to have given much attention to the question. The Committee had been referred to the Act of Union of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland (5 and 6 Anne c. 8). There was considerable similarity between the procedure adopted then and in that connexion with the union with Ireland; but his Lordship found no clear indication that the 16 Scottish representative peers were to represent Scotland rather than the peerage of Scotland.
The first substantial constitutional change in the position of Ireland, his Lordship continued, was made by the Government of Ireland Act, 1920, which provided for separate Parliaments for Southern and for Northern Ireland. It did not destroy the unity of Ireland. While it remained in force, no occasion arose for the election of an Irish representative peer; but his Lordship did not doubt that it would have been proper to hold such an election had occasion arisen.
A very different position was created by the Irish Free State (Agreement) Act, 1922. Its general effect was that that part of Ireland which became the Irish Free State acquired what was commonly known as Dominion status, while Northern Ireland remained part of the United Kingdom. His Lordship did not think that any officer remained whose political or executive functions extended to the whole of Ireland; and there was a complete political separation between the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland, which had remained. In 1949 that part of Ireland which had been the Irish Free State was declared by the Ireland Act, 1949, to have ceased to be a part of his Majesty's dominions. Section 2 declared that, notwithstanding that fact, the Republic of Ireland was not a foreign country; but that did not appear important in this connexion.
As a result of those changes it appeared clear that Ireland as a whole no longer existed politically. On the other hand, there had been no statutory alteration of the position of the Irish peerage or the rights of Irish Peers. So if the Irish representative peers were elected to represent Ireland, his Lordship could not see how there could now be an election of a peer to represent something which no longer existed politically. A statutory provision became obsolete and was impliedly repealed if the state of things on which its existence depended had ceased to exist.
If the Committee for Privileges agreed with his Lordship's opinion the Report of the Committee to the House could be based on the facts that by virtue of the provisons of the Union with Ireland Act, 1800, 28 Irish representative peers sat in this House on the part of Ireland, each being elected for life; that on the death of an Irish representative peer an election of a successor was held in a manner provided by the Act; that no such election had been held since 1919; that those Irish peers who had been so elected continued to sit as members of the House until their respective deaths and that the last Irish peer so elected died in 1961; that the provisions of the Act of 1800 relating to the election of Irish representative peers ceased to be effective on the passing of the Irish Free State (Agreement) Act, 1922; and that the right to elect Irish representative peers no longer existed.