The Irish parliament was both the scene of frequent political battles and an important administrative and legal element of the state machinery of early modern Ireland. This institutional study looks at how parliament dispatched its business on a day-to-day basis. It takes in major areas of responsibility such as creating law, delivering justice, conversing with the executive and administering parliamentary privilege. Its ultimate aim is to present the Irish parliament as one of many such representative assemblies emerging from the feudal state and into the modern world, with a changing set of responsibilities that would inevitably transform the institution and how it saw both itself and the other political assemblies of the day.

Reviews

'Overall, Dennehy provides a comprehensive and convincing account of the Irish parliament as an institution, and this achievement is particularly impressive as the source material is often thin to the point of being threadbare.'
Parliamentary History

'This volume provides what will become the standard account of how the early-modern Irish parliament
worked.'
The Seventeenth Century

'[...] this book is a significant contribution to our knowledge about the Irish houses of parliament
and important reading for scholars and students of seventeenth-century Ireland.'
Irish Historical Studies

'This book provides an informed and useful guide to the procedures of seventeenth-century Irish parliaments from which those researching the parliamentary politics of the period will certainly benefit from reading.'
Parliaments, Estates and Representation

'Coleman Dennehy's The Irish Parliament, 1613-89 is a very welcome addition to the historiography and should be essential reading for scholars with an interest in Stuart Britain and Ireland. This book will be of interest to scholars working in the fields of legal history, Irish law, and the judiciary, as Dennehy places an emphasis on parliament as a legal body as well as one of governance and legislation. [...] This thoroughly researched monograph places the Irish Parliament in its rightful and proper place in early modern Irish history.'
Journal of British Studies

1 Introduction
2 Petitions and the administration of justice
3 Making law: bills and acts
4 Officers and servants of parliament
5 Privilege, precedent and self-regulation
6 Conclusion
Index