The Act of Union
The Irish parliament is abolished and Ireland becomes part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
- Ireland: A History — Thomas Bartlett, Cambridge University Press (2010)
- Modern Ireland 1600–1972 — R. F. Foster, Allen Lane (1988)
- Home Rule: An Irish History, 1800–2000 — Alvin Jackson, Weidenfeld and Nicolson (2003)
After 1798, Prime Minister William Pitt decided the separate Irish parliament in Dublin, controlled by the Protestant Ascendancy, could not be trusted to keep Ireland stable. In 1800 the Irish parliament voted itself out of existence, after a first defeat and a campaign that used titles, offices and compensation to win votes. From 1 January 1801 Ireland sent 100 MPs to Westminster.
- Ireland: A History — Thomas Bartlett, Cambridge University Press (2010)
- Modern Ireland 1600–1972 — R. F. Foster, Allen Lane (1988)
- The Oxford Companion to Irish History — S. J. Connolly (ed.), Oxford University Press (2002)
Pitt had intended Catholic Emancipation to accompany the Union, but George III refused, and Pitt resigned. Catholics had to wait until 1829. The Union lasted, for 26 counties, until 1922.
- Ireland: A History — Thomas Bartlett, Cambridge University Press (2010)
- Home Rule: An Irish History, 1800–2000 — Alvin Jackson, Weidenfeld and Nicolson (2003)
Ireland's parliament was bought out of existence through bribery and patronage, and the promised Catholic Emancipation was then broken.
- Ireland: A History — Thomas Bartlett, Cambridge University Press (2010)
- Modern Ireland 1600–1972 — R. F. Foster, Allen Lane (1988)
The Union made Ireland an equal partner in the world's greatest empire and protected the Protestant minority; industrial Ulster prospered under it.
- Home Rule: An Irish History, 1800–2000 — Alvin Jackson, Weidenfeld and Nicolson (2003)
- Modern Ireland 1600–1972 — R. F. Foster, Allen Lane (1988)
Why it matters today
The Union defined the next 120 years of Irish politics, which turned on repealing or defending it. The words "unionist" and "union flag" in Northern Ireland come directly from it, and the Union still exists for the six counties of the North.